


Flame in the Darkness

by AlyssRoss22



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), M/M, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Rey/Ben Solo, Star-crossed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:27:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29297349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssRoss22/pseuds/AlyssRoss22
Summary: ~~~Hunger Games, but make it Star Wars. Following the plots of, The Hunger Games Trilogy. The story will follow Rey and Ben as they try to survive the hunger games, a battle royale, sport made up by the ruthless First Order to keep control over the galaxy, and maintain 'peace'. All the while trying to make sense of the growing bond between them.Will Rey make peace with the knowledge that her heart has been claimed by a monster?Will Ben, finally find his flame in the darkness?  ~~~~
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Nightmares- Rey

She was running, hard, her blood thrumming fervently in her ears, the afternoon sun blazing down upon her. All her mind kept screaming was run, don’t stop, push through the sinking movement of the sand, and keep going. Her legs pumped with astounding speed as desperation drove her forward. She couldn’t stop. Stopping now, meant death. Strong, purposeful steps thundered behind her, leaving a hissing wake of disturbed sand, quickly closing the distance she was working so hard to maintain. Her eyes screwed themselves shut as her breaths escaped her in panicked little puffs of fear. The vibrations of the pursuing footfalls close behind her caused her eyes to snap back open. The sudden intake of visual sensory and the merciless avalanche of the dune beneath her, caused her to lose balance and fall, face first, into the scorching sand below her. The force of her landing had knocked the air from her lungs, but she was able to suck in a fresh one within seconds, whimpering out pleas for mercy on her next exhale out. She was scampering forward as fast as the near, liquid sand would allow her. A thought ripped through her then, the desert around her had grown eerily quiet. The only shuffling of sand came from her now, trying desperately to regain her footing. The tears that welled and spilled from her eyes dried quickly on her cheeks. She knew she shouldn’t do it; she knew that she should put every ounce of her existence back into moving forward, instead of looking behind her, but a bigger part of her, the tired burning part of her, knew it was already too late. She drew in another steadying breath and rolled over from her front to her back, looking behind her, eyes wide with terror. Part of her had held on to a small sliver of hope that it had all been a trick of the unforgiving Jakku sun, but when her eyes landed on the dark figure looming just a short strides distance from her, that hope shriveled up faster than tear sizzling to a stop on her cheeks. The figure before her was monsterishly tall, his billowing darkness a stark contrast to the bright sands that expanded around them. His face was a twisted mask of snarling lips and gnashing teeth, eyes burning into her with a fire that she would have gladly traded the sun for. An eternity could have sprawled between them as they stayed there, predator sizing up prey. She wasn’t sure which of them moved first, if she finally couldn’t take the pressure of his stare or if he had finally grown too impatient, but they both moved again with sudden urgency. Her scuttling on her back as fast as her legs could propel her, and him with three, expertly planted strides. She opened her mouth to scream just as the monster’s hidden blade slashed across her neck, spraying the sand beside her with blood. Her last thought was that her blood looked like some of the most precious gems she had ever seen. Her little scavenger fingers instinctively reached out to try and grab them as they beaded across the sand before darkness consumed her.

Had this been the first time that Prim had woken up in a blanket of her own screams, Rey would have been more frantic as she went to her. Given that the young girl had actually woken in screaming fits each morning over the past few days. Rey went to her calm, with sure hands and a soothing voice, ready to coo away the last of the fog from the girl’s mind. Prim was sat up in her small cot, tears streaming from her eyes as she clung to the front of Rey’s tan tunic.  
“Prim, it’s okay. It was just another dream. You are here, You are safe.” Rey used her words to lull Prim into a state of calm, holding her firmly to her chest as she did.  
“It was awful, Rey. They are always so awful, but he got me this time. I couldn't run fast enough in the sand and he-’’ Prim’s frantic words trailed off as she turned to nuzzle into the safety of Rey’s embrace.  
“It wasn’t real though, Prim, look. This is only your first year putting your name in. One entry, just one. That’s it. You will be fine.” Rey kissed the top of her head pulling away to look Prim in the eyes.  
“I won’t let anything happen to you, you know that, right?”  
Primrose hiccupped back more tears, her blue eyes wide like saucers as she nodded up at Rey. Rey smiled down at her and tucked a loose blond curl behind Prim’s ear doing her best to hide the worry behind her eyes as she pulled her into another comforting hug.  
She didn’t know why but there was a pit in her stomach that told her something was very wrong. The promise that she would keep Prim safe causing her stomach to turn into knots. She would though, keep Prim safe. She knew it deep in her core that nothing would happen to this girl as long as Rey could help it. Prim was like a sister to her, Rey had been there beside Mother Everdeen when she had given birth to her. With Father Everdeen’s untimely passing, it was Rey who held tight to the screaming bundle, as the midwife tended to the tired mother, and Rey who had become wrapped around the tiny creature's finger the moment their eyes had met. She never thought she would feel this strongly for her, as a matter of fact, she was sure she would hate Prim.  
When she heard that her adoptive parents were going to have a child of their own, she couldn’t help the jealousy that coiled within her like a venomous little snake. Rey was nine, and they were the only family she had known, with their new addition she was sure she would be cast aside and left with nothing, become nothing, to the people who meant the most to her in the world. But that never came to fruition, from that first day, from her first pathetic infantile screams of life, Rey knew she would spend her days making sure that Prim’s life would be better than hers. Rey would be the shield to protect her little flower from the heat and dangers Jakku had to mercilessly offer.  
She had kept her silent promise all this time, these 12 years, Prim knew as little of life’s harshities as Rey was physically able to prevent. Even when Mother Everdeen had succumbed to delirium, and became a shell of her former self, Rey stepped in to mother her. When food would be next to nonexistent, Prim always ate. There was little Rey could do about the sun’s relentless heat, but she would have softened its harshness, if she could. Why then did this new promise weigh so heavily in the pit of her stomach?  
When she pulled out of the young girl’s embrace again Rey had cleared all concern away from her eyes, and smiled sweetly down at her.  
“Dry your eyes Primrose, today is the last day before the reaping and once that is over with you will be able to sleep easy again. Okay?”  
“Yeah, I’m sorry Rey, they just feel so real, these dreams. They aren’t like normal ones, not flashes or glimpses, but solid. Like I really am living them out.”  
“Fear can do horrible things to your mind Prim, I believe these nightmares seem so much more real to you, but I assure you they are just dreams, fueled into clarity by your fear. Nothing more. It will be okay.”  
Rey rubbed Prim’s back reassuringly, before stepping away.  
“I am going to check on Mother and then I have to head out for the day. Can I trust you to look after her while I’m out?’’  
Prim nodded firmly, wanting to make Rey proud.  
“Yes, I can do it.”  
“Good girl. The troopers will be coming into town later today and we are sorely low on food. I won't be able to hunt as freely while they are here, so I need to get us as much as possible so we don’t have to rely solely on Unkar Plutt for portions.”  
Prim wrinkled her nose at the mention of both Unkar and his disgusting rehydrated portions.  
“I hope you find something, but please be safe. If they catch you going outside our district, you’ll be in loads of trouble.’’  
Rey smiled sheepishly at Prim as she gathered some necessities to take in to Mother.  
“Them? Catch me? I would like them to try, Little Flower. With all of that armor the sand itself will be enough to keep them at bay.”  
She gave Prim a knowing wink and walked out of their room, the sound of the young girl’s giggles following her down the narrow hallway to their small kitchenette.  
Rey rummaged around in their cabinets, gathering a few more supplies to get Mother set up for the day. Her brow furrowed together as her mind fell on her adoptive mother. The reaping for the games started tomorrow morning and Mother had gone completely into shut down mode. She was shut up tightly in her room, nonverbal, and would only leave to relieve herself. She was always worried when she got this way, but after so many years, it was just how things were around this time of year. Rey understood, she had been with Mother as they watched Father get called as a tribute in the games those 12 years ago.  
Mother’s belly had just started to swell, a baby Prim growing inside. Mother cried out in protest as he was led up to the stage, she begged the troopers that swarmed her that they had to pick someone else, anyone else, but the troopers ushered her back and ordered her to be quiet. She sobbed and began calling out to the other men, begging one of them to take his place, but no one did. No one had ever won the games in district twelve back then, everyone knew that being called as a tribute was a death sentence. No one would volunteer to take his place. Rey had watched as that realization came to settle on Mother’s face, and that was the moment she had begun to crumble from within. After the other tribute had been pulled, a woman a few years younger than Father, Rey and Mother were allowed a few moments to say goodbye. Mother was inconsolable, she wailed and clutched to the front of Father’s shirt and all he could do was tell her he would try his best to come home to her, but Rey could see the fear and sadness in his eyes, and she could tell by his voice when he spoke to her that he would never be coming home.  
“Come here Rey, my sunshine.”  
Mother had quieted her sobs and just allowed herself to be held by her husband as he called Rey to them. She had not cried, though tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and clouded her vision. She shuffled her way forward and stood beside him.  
“Papa?” her voice cracked and when Father forced his frown into a sad small, the tears that had been welling up since his name had been called spilled in big, thick droplets down her cheeks.  
“Rey, I need you to promise me you will help Mama. I won’t be back in time for the baby to be born, I need you to be there for Mama, okay? I will do my best to make it back to you, to all of you, my girls, I will fight with everything I have for you three.” He pulled Rey into his arms and he held them until the guards came to lead him away. Rey watched as he disappeared with the masked troopers and held tight to Mother as she cried loudly again.  
“Take care of each other! I love you!” Those were the last words he had said to them. He had called them to them as he disappeared down the hallway.

In the end father was murdered by a young girl, maybe 15 years of age. He had survived the games for days by avoiding the other tributes in the games. The desert arena of that year aided him immensely as it was very similar to home. But when the girl accidentally stumbled into his hiding spot Father froze. He couldn't bring himself to strike down a child and he hesitated, the girl had no such reservations. Kill or be killed after all. She had shot him with a blaster in the chest. He died instantly.  
Rey and Mother watched it all happen over the holovideo that was broadcasted by the First Order for everyone to see. Mother was never the same. The sight of her soulmate being slaughtered burned into her soul and tore her mind apart. Over time she would crawl out of the darkness that had threatened to drown her but every year when the games approached she shut down again and shut herself up. After 12 years Rey was used to it, it was just how things were.  
When she entered Mother’s room she could tell that she was still asleep, not disturbed at all by Prim’s screams of terror just a few short moments ago. Rey set a small tray of items down on a rickety side table and reached to gently rouse Mother from her slumber.  
“Mama? I am leaving for the day. Mama?”  
Rey called to her softly, like she was trying to coax a wounded animal. After a moment of no movement, Rey rubbed her arm a little more firmly and called to her again.  
“Ma-”  
Mother’s hand shot around in a panic as she was pulled from her slumber, Rey dodged it deftly and grabbed it firmly, but gently, in her grasp, so Mother wouldn’t hurt herself.  
“Mama, it's Rey. You are alright, it's okay.” she cooed, much like she had with Prim earlier.  
Mother stopped her panicked flailing when her eyes landed on Rey’s face. Her eyes focused in recognition as her body relaxed back into her bed.  
“I am sorry to pull you out of sleep Mama, but I am getting ready to head out for the day. I just wanted to get you set up. Prim will be staying close if you need anything.”  
Mother nodded but didn’t say anything. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked somberly over at her bedside table. The tray that Rey had prepared for her had a small flask of water, a bowl, and a small air sealed packet of food. Mother reached and took her tray with shaking hands, Rey made sure she was able to successfully bring the try to her lap before she spoke to her again.  
“I will be gone most of today.”  
Mother didn’t look at her when she spoke, just shakily opened the packet and emptied the contents into the bowl on her tray, spilling a little of the powder from the shake in her hands.  
“I will be heading out to try and stock up on food. I won’t be able to get out much after today and we are out of almost everything but dehydrated portions.”  
She watched as Mother added water to the powder and it started to expand.  
“I have to stop by the market after that, but then I will be home. Prim said she will stay close by and help if you need anything.”  
Mother’s hands began to shake a little more at the mention of Prim and Rey inwardly cursed herself for having brought her up at all. It was Prim’s first year putting her name in for the reaping. No wonder Mother seemed to be having a harder time this year than the past few years. She was disappointed in herself for only putting that together now and she let her face fall slightly into a frown.  
“I will try to hurry home.”  
She leaned forward and kissed Mother on the top of her head before turning to leave. She was almost out of the door when she heard a small raspy voice speak up behind her.  
“Be safe Rey.”  
She had to stop herself from tripping forward at Mother’s words, the first ones she had spoken in days, Rey thought.  
“I always am Mama.” Rey called over her shoulder as she made her way out of the room.  
Rey returned quickly to the kitchenette and pulled an almost empty jug of water from one of the cabinets. She used half of what was left to fill her canteen before securing the lids on both her canteen and the jug itself. She stored the jug back in the cabinet and slung the strap to her canteen over her shoulder, letting it hang at her hip. She made her way to the front door and grabbed her head wrappings and goggles that hung on a nearby hook on the wall. She used a small bit of her canteen water to moisten the cloth head wrappings before securing them around her. She let the canteen fall back to her side and pulled on her tinted goggles.  
“I’ll be back before dark!” She called to the house behind her as she grabbed her quarterstaff, and slung it over her shoulder, opposite her canteen strap.  
“Say hi to Poe for me!!!” rang out Prim’s now cheerful voice from farther back in their room.  
Rey smiled to herself and shook her head as she opened the door and headed out into the blazing Jakku sun.


	2. Life on Jakku- Rey

The sun was its normal stifling self, and it beat down on Rey’s head relentlessly as she made her way towards the outskirts of her district’s parameters. She was glad that she had the forethought to dampen her head wrap, allowing the moistened fabric to keep her head slightly cooler. She passed by a group of scavengers scrubbing items in a murky pool of water, eager to make their finds as presentable as possible, before turning them into Unkar for their portions. Rey was glad to see that a decent amount of them had found something to turn in already, but she could tell just by a quick glance that nothing they had would go for very much.   
Sand shifted over her boots as a warm gust of wind blew across the desert. She walked for nearly an hour. She passed remnants of fallen star-ships strewn in the sand that were already being picked through by many of the other villagers. She passed them all, and no one really paid her any mind as she continued on toward the wall. She had made this journey many times over the years, but besides her and her friend Poe, not many others had the wherewithal to go beyond the district wall, without the tracking devices normally given to other scavengers, if they left the district limits.The tracking devices were supposedly meant to allow the first order to keep track of its people, but it was long known that if a scavenger found a new wreck, that The First Order would note the location, clear it of anything worthwhile, and leave nothing but basic scrap for anyone that came by next. Rey learned of the kink in the system from Poe, about three years ago, when parts started going for less and less with Unkar, and her family had been very near starving. Poe had learned it from his father, who passed the secret of his droid trade to him, shortly before he passed away.  
About three hours into her walk, Rey reached the parameter wall, a towering behemoth, miles upon miles long, that easily kept the district's people secured inside. Rey removed her staff from her back, and made her way to a nearby rock. She used her staff to tap roughly into the sand until it struck something hard and a metallic thud sounded below her. She crouched down and felt around the base of her staff until her fingers found the smooth metal surface of a door. She let her fingers trace over the metal until they found a lever, and she pulled up roughly. With a grinding moan the hatch opened, revealing a ladder well. Slinging her staff back over her shoulder, Rey carefully lowered herself down into the hole, the sand around her shifted and gave way, following her down as she descended. When she was far enough down she pulled the hatch closed, the small river of sand stopped flowing and she made her way down the ladder the rest of the way. She stood, underground, in the body of a wreckage that had been swallowed by the ever shifting sands of Jakku.  
When Rey gained steady footing she made her way through the massive hall of the destroyed vessel. The ship must have been a true sight to see back when it could still fly, she would be willing to wager that in its prime, it could hold her entire district within. She walked the broken halls and kept a trained eye out for any parts that might be worth grabbing on her way back out. When she arrived at the back of what used to be a massive mess hall, she grabbed a net sack that was hanging from a hook on the wall. She noted that its presence meant that Poe had already been there and had already started his scavenging topside. She looped the net to her belt and made her way up a nearby ladder of an emergency exit. When she reached the top, she unlatched the small door and was greeted by a small cascade of sand that fell past her, as it shifted off of the top of the door. She was welcomed back to the surface by the blinding sun as she pulled herself out of the hatch, and back up onto the desert floor. She was now standing at the base of a mountain a few yards outside the district wall.   
She set to work scaling the ragged cliffs of the monstrous stone structure, she knew that if she was lucky, her prey would soon be hiding out in one of the shaded alcoves above. She made easy work of the climb, life of a scavenger and making a playground out of the damaged sky fortresses, had made mountain climbing, child's play. She had made it about a quarter of the way to the top, when the steep slope she had been ascending sharply cut off into a decently sized outcropping. She hoisted herself up, happy to see that she had beat the beasts to their resting place. She moved as quietly as possible to a large overhang that was casting a deep shadow under the afternoon sun.   
Rey, crouched low and removed her staff from her back. With one quick twist of her wrists she unlocked the center mechanism and split the staff in two. She quickly unlatched the leather sling from either side and attached it to her belt. She flipped either end around and reconnected the two halves back together, her staff now resembling a deadly sharp javelin. With her weapon now ready to make her kill, Rey stole a moment to pull away her face wrappings and take a drink from her canteen. She relished the water as it quenched the harsh dryness that had been settling in the back of her throat. As she moved to fasten the lid back on her canteen a familiar noise caught her attention and her gaze moved quickly toward it.   
The noise was rhythmic, the sound of something being drug across the hard stone of the mountain.   
Shhhhk….Shhhhk.   
Rey crouched lower to the ground and moved as far back against the mountain wall as she could, while still being able to have full movement of her weapon.  
Shhhhk…. Shhhhk.   
She held her breath, and poised her staff over her shoulder ready to strike.  
Shhhhk….Shhhhk.   
Just over the far ridge she spotted her prize, the scaly head of a large lizard had come into view as it pulled its large body over the mountain ledge, desperate to escape the high noon sun, an escape that would only be found in the same shaded spot that now hid Rey. The creature was headed right toward her, she waited just long enough to see the color of its underbelly, as soon as she confirmed the orange color she let her javelin fly.   
Her weapon found its mark with a wet thud, the sharp point of the javelin piercing easily through the scaled flesh of the lizard’s throat and embedding itself in the stone floor of the mountain. Rey moved from her spot in the shadows with haste  
to claim her kill. The beast thrashed about frantically as she approached, desperately trying to free itself with the last of its dying strength. She removed a small dagger from her waist band to finish the poor thing off when a blaster shot rang out from above her, causing her to call out in alarm. The small beam shot through the lizard’s head, stilling it instantly.   
“Killing shot claims the prize, am I right, Scraps?” Poe called from a cliff edge just above her, his voice only slightly muffled by his own face wrappings.   
"You know full well it wasn't going anywhere, you didn't need to damn near take my foot off with your blaster, Poe!" Rey called up to him, feigning anger.   
"Take your...give me some credit Scraps, you know I'm a better shot than that," he scoffed, as he quickly climbed down the mountain ledge to join her.   
Rey rolled her eyes as she pulled her javelin from its resting place and used it to drag the limp corpse of the lizard into the shade.   
“What I know, is that you are quick to pull your blaster and start making useless amounts of noise when we aren’t supposed to be out here,” she scolded him, as she knelt down to start processing her kill.  
Poe moved into the shade as well, taking a seat next to Rey as she worked.   
“Finn’s on guard duty at the main gate today, we could throw a party out here and no one would care.” Poe removed his head wrap and took a swig of his own canteen as he laughed away her accusation. Rey used her small dagger to slit the lizard from the hole in its throat to the base of its tail, and discarded the unusable internals of the lizard.   
“Finn?” She laughed as she shook her head, moving next to remove the lizard’s head, and place it inside the now empty chest cavity.   
“If I had known he was on duty today I would have just walked out of the front gate, guess getting back in with this will be alot easier than trying to make my way back through the underground,” she said, thinking of their trooper friend.   
Trooper FN-2187 had been assigned to Jakku as a patrol officer, a little over a year ago, just before the start of the games last year. He was on a patrol of the outer wall when he was attacked by a creature similar to the one Rey had just taken down. However, where this one was about the size of an average hound, the one that went after FN-2187 had been at least double the size, and had the telling signs of being poisonous, as marked by its strikingly yellow underbelly.  
Rey and Poe had stumbled upon the altercation after a long day of scavenging on the outside, eager to make their way back home. The beast had the trooper pinned beneath its massive weight and was about to clamp him in its poisonous jaws when Poe pulled out his blaster and started firing. Rey was quick to join the frey and as soon as the lizard’s attention was on Poe she swiftly dove beneath it and pulled the panicked man away from his death. When she was happy that he was far enough away Rey ran back and together she and Poe took the creature on. She jumped, without a second thought, onto the beasts back as it lunged for Poe. With quick hands she threw her staff over its head and pulled back hard on her leather strap, closing off its windpipe.The corig thrashed, frantically trying to throw Rey from his back, but she held tight to the leather strap and braced her feet into its back to ride through the desperate attempt to free itself. After a few moments of no air, the corig began to slow and when Poe was sure he had a clear shot he took a breath and fired his blaster. Rey ducked low as the blast shot out through the back of the creatures head and steadied herself through its death throes, as it fell, dead, into the sand below. Rey jumped off once it had stilled and pulled her staff from under its massive head. She was disappointed to see the yellow belly, noting that nothing could be salvaged without risking death from its poison.   
Rey watched as Poe walked up to the trooper and outstretched his hand to help him stand. He took Poe’s hand shakily and quickly stood, brushing and shaking his suit free of sand. With a small click he took off his helm and flipped it, and tapped the top releasing more sand into the small, growing pile around him.   
“Thank you..thank you. I thought I was dead.” the trooper sounded shaken to his core and Rey felt pity for him.  
“You almost were, that is an Amber Corig,” Rey had said matter of factly.   
“A what?” the trooper said, still frazzled.  
“Amber Corig, bigger, nastier versions of the native Corig lizards. The yellow belly means they are poisonous. If it had so much as scratched you through your armor you would be dead.” She said sternly, eyeing him up and down.   
The trooper stilled, wrapping his head around those words and letting them sink in, when a realization hit him.   
“Why did you save me? I’m a trooper and you...you aren’t supposed to be out past the wall without a monitor bracelet. It doesn’t make sense to save the person who is meant to turn you in for parameter breach.”  
Rey’s hand tightened around her staff and was ready to knock the trooper unconscious when Poe spoke up from beside her.   
“If that thing didn’t eat you, its poison would have left you imobile and in the worst pain you could ever imagine. You would have died slow with no hope of a cure...forgive us for thinking that, maybe, no one deserves to die like that. We aren’t troopers...Just two people, trying to survive. You want to make it even? Look the other way so my friend and I can make it back inside the district wall.”  
Rey looked between the two men, her grip still tight on her staff, when the trooper reached out his hand for Poe to take she loosened her grip and slung the staff over her shoulder.   
“I owe you my life. I won’t say anything. Thank you-uh..what is your name?”  
Poe reached out his hand and shook the trooper’s, firmly.  
“Poe, Poe Dameron, and this is Rey,” he said, gesturing over to her with a shrug.  
The trooper nodded over to her offering her a thanks as well.   
“I am FN-2187, I am new to this planet, but I swear, as long as I am here, I'll help you both where I can. “  
Poe chuckled a sort of boyish chuckle, Rey didn’t hear very often.   
“FN-what? If we are going to have an arrangement I am not calling you by some mess of numbers, what is your name?”  
FN-2187 shifted uncomfortably in the sand and looked down at his feet.  
“I don’t have a name other than that, FN-2187 is the only name the First Order ever gave me.” Rey could tell he was embarrassed and felt the pity well up in her again at the sad tone of his voice. This trooper seemed different from the others, she knew Poe could feel it too. Not cold and heartless like the other troopers normally were. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was but he felt warmer somehow, and this must be why Poe was being so patient with him. Very unlike Poe, when it came to imperial scum.  
Poe dropped the troopers hand and placed his hands on his hips in contemplation.  
“FN huh? What about Finn, can we call you Finn?” Poe asked earnestly.   
FN-2187 paused for a moment and then breathed out what sounded like a sigh of relief.   
“Yes...I like that. Finn..” He let the name roll around his tongue as he spoke it and Rey noticed it sounded as though he was trying not to cry. Very different indeed.   
“Finn it is then,” said Rey warmly.  
“Good to meet you, Finn,’’ Poe said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.  
“Good to meet you too,” Finn said, sounding like he was struggling to keep himself composed.   
“So!” Poe said happily. “Now that that is out of the way, how about you make good on your word to help us back in the main gate? We have a big haul to trade in today, buddy!” Poe hoisted his discarded net, filled with scavenged parts over his shoulder with ease, before starting off towards the main gate. 

Rey smiled at the memory as she continued on with her task. She used her dagger to remove the lizard’s tail with ease. She made a long slit in its skin from base to tip and peeled off the outer layer of scaled hide.  
“How are you two, by the way?” She asked, as she stuffed the skinned tail inside the emptied carcass of the lizard. She used the long strips of its tail skin to secure it closed, tying them off in a knot before placing the whole body in her netting and hoisting it over her shoulder. Poe stood and helped her up, holstering his blaster and hoisting his own net, filled with miscellaneous parts, over his shoulder. They carefully made their way down the mountain as Poe spoke.  
“We are pretty great actually. It is hard to get any time alone recently, with the games starting tomorrow, and more and more troopers coming in, but we are doing good.”  
They scaled their way to the desert floor easily, and once they were both safely down, they began their long walk to the main entrance of District 12.  
“I still don’t know what is more unbelievable, that you fell for a stormtrooper or that you were able to actually find the one nice trooper and seduce him.” she elbowed him in the ribs playfully and he just laughed, using his free and to give her a playful shove.   
“Hey listen, you give a guy a name and suddenly you can’t shake him loose.” Poe said with false annoyance. Rey smiled beneath her wrappings and shook her head.  
“Well, I am happy for you both, sorry the games are getting in the way of things.” Rey said, chuckling.   
“Thanks, Scraps, that means a lot.” he said cheekily as they continued on their way.

*****  
When the entrance to the district came into view the pair picked up their pace. Rey was eager to get her kill back to town. She suspected that the added speed in Poe’s step was driven by more than just his eagerness to turn in his day’s scavenged parts to Unkar. When they made it to the gate they slowed slightly, eyeing the two guards in either watch tower, who were scanning the small crowd of people. Other scavengers with blinking bracelets were lined up outside the gate, being checked in by a single ground trooper, his serial number reading FN-2187.  
“See, told ya he was on post today. You really should check with me before you go through all of the trouble of the underground.” Poe said, noticeably excited as they joined the line to reenter the district wall. It wasn’t long before they were at the front of the line and Finn waved them forward.  
“Next!” Finn called, as Rey and Poe moved to meet him.   
“Afternoon, Trooper.” Poe nearly purred under his breath as Finn reached forward and mimicked the removal of a tracking bracelet that didn’t exist, allowing his gloved fingers to linger just a little longer than normal on Poe’s wrist.  
“Move along, Grease Monkey.” Finn scolded as he let go of Poe’s arm and ushered him through the gate. When he turned back to Rey she tried her best to quiet a nervous giggle that was escaping her lips, despite her best efforts.   
“Something funny scavenger?” Finn demanded, reaching forward and grabbing her arm with fake aggression, quickly mimicking the removal of another bracelet.   
“Nothing at all, trooper, must be delirious from the heat.” she retorted with feigned innocence, pulling her arm away, before moving to join Poe in reentering the district.   
Once Rey had joined Poe he grabbed her arm and pulled her off to the side of the wall. When she saw where he was leading her she couldn’t help her excitement.   
“You got it running!?” she exclaimed as she ran passed him to go look over the beaten up speeder that was parked in front of them.  
“Surprise,” Poe laughed as he joined her, securing his net to the speeder, before grabbing Rey’s off of her shoulder and securing it as well. She let him take it from her, happy for the added freedom to examine the small personal craft. Poe watched with amusement as she dove into the engine, poking at prodding to get a good look at the inner workings. Poe and Rey had spent the better part of the last few months desperately trying to get the parts to finish this speeder. It was going to make their trips to and from the wall much more time efficient. They had even talked about risking the trackers for a chance to take the speeder outside the wall and see what things they could haul back on her.   
“Oh, she looks beautiful.” Rey mused, standing on her tiptoes and almost overturning herself into the depths of the engine.  
“How did you get her going?’’ She called to Poe in a knowing tone, her head still inside the speeder. Poe moved to stand next to her, leaning against the speeder for support.  
“Oh, you know, took your advice. After we couldn't figure out why she wasn’t running last time I took the engine apart again and scrubbed everything down as clean as I could get it. I traded in some pretty decent parts for really good oil from Unkar, and put her back together. Then she just came to life.” Rey pulled herself out of the engine and Poe could tell she was beaming beneath her wraps.   
“Can I drive her back? Poe, please!?” she begged, cupping her hands together in front of her. He stared down at her for a moment before he reached into a small pouch he wore at his waist and pulled out a small cylindrical starter and tossed it to her. She caught it easily and quickly moved to climb onto the speeder, chirping in excitement. There was enough room for Poe to climb up beside her and settle himself down, he watched as she inserted the starter and their speeder hummed to life.   
“She is perfect! No wonder you beat me out there today, she is going to change everything.” she called over the hum of the engine before setting the speeder to move forward. After a short time, both Poe and Rey undid their face wrappings, allowing the wind to rush over their flushed faces, and in this moment, it would have been easy to forget the hardships of Jakku, and the impending darkness of this years’ game, but they were not so lucky. As the village came into view, a thunderous roar ripped through the atmosphere above them. A first order transport ship was coming in to land a short distance, here to drop off the added troopers and media personnel who would be setting up for tomorrows’ reaping. A familiar anxious pit crept into Rey’s stomach as the speeder continued on toward their destination. She glanced over to Poe, whose jaw was firmly set in a tense line. They were silent as Rey carefully navigated the speeder around pedestrians and made her way to the heart of the marketplace, stopping just before the wash post, to park the speeder.   
Poe jumped down from his spot before Rey could bring the speeder to a full stop, aggressively pulling his net down, and storming off to the wash basin. Rey was close on his heals after she had parked the speeder. She watched as Poe found an empty spot at the basin and began aggressively washing his scavenged parts. Rey grabbed a particularly delicate piece from his net and went to work carefully cleaning it, sitting in his static filled silence for only a moment before, trying to call him out of his silent anger.   
“Poe..I-” she started softly, but was cut off by Poe’s heated words.  
“Rey I am fine, I don’t need you to try and calm me down, I get it. Just, seeing that ship, knowing what is about to happen tomorrow. It doesn’t matter who they are, ya know?”  
He paused for a moment and let his eyes scan over the men, women, and children of their village. His mind was racing with heartache and rage.  
“I do know, Poe, more than most, I know.” she said, thinking about Father, and pushing away the old ache that still lived in her heart. Poe sighed and shook his head, working even harder on another part.   
“I wish there was a way to stop it-for everyone in the whole galaxy to just stop watching their stupid game, show them that fear wont work on us anymore, that these games are pointless. I wish we could find a way to tear the entire system apart.”  
Rey watched as a few villagers glanced up at him as his words grew, just a little too loud. Some glancing nervously around, checking for any troopers, before figuring it safer just to leave the wash basin completely, lest they get caught too close to Poe, and his treasonous words of rebellion. They stood in silence again, the static of Poe’s aggression seemed to dissipate slightly after getting the words out of his head. Rey didn’t fight him, she didn’t argue, she knew, knew too well the war raging within him and knew that no matter what she said, it would never change his mind.  
Poe was only a few years older than her, they had grown their whole lives watching the tragic horror that was the First Order’s ruthless Hunger Games. Even more, they had grown up watching tribute after tribute from their district lose their lives in terrible ways, including Rey’s adoptive father. Rey finished cleaning her part and paused, and looked up at him, concern pulling her brows together.   
“How many times is your name in this year?” she asked him tentatively. He paused too and gritted his teeth before answering, not meeting her gaze.   
“Enough...guess you could say the odds aren’t exactly in my favor, and you?” he admitted, mocking the obnoxious tagline of the games, before glazing down at her with his own question.  
“A few.” was all she gave him in response as her mind began to race.   
A twinge of fear sparked inside her and her eyes glazed over at the thought of her friend being chosen for the games. He was a brother to her, family without a doubt, and the thought of losing anyone else she loved for the enjoyment of the First Order and its sympathizers ignited a fire under her skin. The silence stretched between them once more, both of them lost in their own thoughts. They had almost finished the last of Poe’s scavenged parts when he spoke again, his tone steady, but quiet.   
“We could do it, you know, escape the games. We could take off and find a secluded part of the desert, far away from here, and the eyes of the First Order. We sneak out of the district all of the time anyway, why don’t we just keep going?”  
Her eyes focused again as she processed his words and for a moment she clung to them, but she quickly let them go.   
“We would never make it out there Poe, they would find us, and if they didn’t, we would still have Mother, Prim, your brothers, and Finn? What about them?” she asked knowingly. She wasn’t trying to snuff out his hope, but she didn’t want him putting himself in danger for a plan that just felt fated to fail. He finished his last part and then looked back at her in earnest.   
“We would bring them with us, Scraps, we are a good enough team, we could do it, together.” He almost seemed like he was pleading with her to agree with him, and part of her wanted to, it really did, but a stronger part of her, deep inside knew that it would not work. She shook her head solemnly and looked away, not wanting to see the disappointment she knew would soon fall over his face.  
“I can’t Poe, Prim would never make it out in the wilds, you know that, she is too delicate, too trusting, and Mother?” she let her words hang in the air and after a moment she heard him sigh out a held breath before agreeing with her.  
“You’re right Scarps, desperate thoughts for a desperate man. I just, sometimes, the thought of us never having to worry about it, any of this, it's all that I have to hold on to. Never having to see another one of my brothers sign in to a reaping, never having to worry if my name will be called, or worse, thiers.” he shuddered at the thought and Rey couldn’t help but run a hand over her prickling skin as she was reminded that this year, Prim would be entering her name in for the first time, and suddenly, she wanted very much to go home. Poe must have noticed the new unease that had washed over her because when she finally looked up to meet his gaze he was pinching the bridge of his nose and was cursing himself under his breath.   
“Shit...I’m sorry Rey. I forgot this year...man...I remember when Max had to go to his first reaping. He was shaking as bad as Old Lady Zuwdi, the entire time.” he only half laughed at the memory, running his hand through his black hair.   
“How is she holding up?” he asked, genuinely concerned. Rey handed him back the few parts she cleaned and waited for him to repack his things before heading back to the speeder.  
“She has been having nightmares for the last few days. She is terrified they will call her name, I try to tell her the odds are near impossible, but it doesn't seem to help much. She did ask me to say hi to you though, before I left.” Rey finished, as they reached the speeder. She pulled her netting down, happy to see her kill still there, and watched as Poe secured his now cleaned parts and hop on board the speeder, starting it up with ease.   
“Poor kid, hopefully it will all be over tomorrow, no one ever gets called their first time, she will be ok. Man, I'd like to sock the son of a bitch responsible for these games, making that little girl afraid like that.” Poe shook his head in disgust before flipping his goggles back over his eyes. Rey slung her next over her shoulder.   
“You want a ride back home? I can take you back after I visit Unkar and turn these in.” he said, shifting over on the speeder to make more room.   
“No, I promised I would be back before it got too late, I’ll just head home myself, thank you though.” she said, smiling up at him.   
“Tell Prim I said hi back, tell her I'll come over and fight off her nightmare if she needs me to, okay? I'll see you tomorrow, Scraps.”   
“See you tomorrow.” she waved as he sped off and turned to make her way back home.

*****

When Rey returned to their broken down, AT-AT turned home, Prim was just leaving Mother’s room. She smiled as Rey walked in the door, happy to see her.  
“Hey there, little flower, I brought something for you!” Rey said, her voice laced with excitement as she held out her net for Prim to see. When Prim’s eyes landed on the dead lizard they grew huge and beamed, and Rey thought for a moment she heard Prim’s stomach growl in anticipation.  
“It’s half my size!” she exclaimed as she descended on the dead beast, pulling it from the net and looking it over happily. She strained against the weight of it slightly, but was able to make her way to their small kitchenette, Rey close behind her.  
“I thought we could use the head and the tail for soup and then salt the rest to make it last a while longer, this will be the last one until the games are over, so we will have to use it sparingly.” Rey’s stomach growled as she explained her plans to Prim and the young girl nodded enthusiastically as she set to work preparing the lizard.   
Prim may not have scavenged like Rey did, but she had a knack for turning even the simplest ingredients into wonderful meals. Rey could hardly make anything taste good, her skills landing only in the realm of necessity, but Prim? She worked magic with next to nothing.   
The two of them set to work making their meal for their evening Rey told Prim about her day outside the wall with Poe. Told her about their speeder and how it was finally up and running and when the two of them were good and satisfied with how the meal had turned out, they ate in silence thankful for their meal of more than just portions. When they had finished, Rey went to check on Mother and found that she had finished the bowl of food Prim had brought to her, and was now fast asleep. Rey turned to head back to the kitchenette but was greeted by Prim who had already cleaned up their mess and was making her way down the narrow hallway toward their shared room.   
“She was asleep most of the day, but she seemed okay for the most part.” Prim said, referring to Mother.   
“That is good, at least, she will come around after the games are over, she always does.” Rey said, trying to reassure Prim. Prim just nodded sadly and moved past Rey to their room and Rey followed.  
“Is something wrong Prim?” Rey asked, already knowing what was on her mind. Prim stopped in the middle of their small room and shook her head, refusing to turn and face her older sister.   
“Prim?” Rey pushed gently, reaching out and turning Prim to face her, by her shoulder. When Prim looked up at her, Rey could see her eyes had turned red and puffy and small tears had started falling down her cheeks.   
“I am scared, Rey. Really scared. And I could really use my mom right now, I know she is sad but, I really do need her right now.” the young girl threw her arms around Rey’s waist and cried, Rey held her tight and rubbed her back gently.   
“It is okay to be afraid, Little Flower, we all are. I know mama wishes she could be strong enough to help you through this your first time, but she just isn’t, not yet. But I am. I will be with you every step of the way and no matter what, nothing bad will happen to you, I won’t let it.” Rey pushed Prim back gently and tipped her chin up, looking her in the eyes.   
“I promise. I swear it on everything that I have in me Prim. Trust me, okay?” she spoke firmly but softly, and only dropped her gaze from Prim’s when she nodded that she understood.   
“Want to sleep with me tonight? Maybe it will help keep the dreams away?’’  
Prim nodded, sniffling slightly. The two of them dressed in their night clothes and squeezed into Rey’s bed together. Prim nestled herself safely in her sister’s arms and Rey ran her fingers affectionately through her hair, trying to help her off to sleep. After a few moments Prim turned her face up slightly, “Will you sing me one of the lullabies papa used to sing you?” she asked, sleep heavy in her voice. Rey nodded slightly, a sad smile pulling on her lips before she started her song. She kept it quiet enough not to wake mama, but she sang until she was sure that Prim was fast asleep, and she, herself, was yawning with exhaustion. Before long, both girls were safe in a long restful sleep.


	3. Life on Jakku- Ben

Ben spun and struck his target, the reverberation of the strike echoed through his fist and up his arm. Before it subsided he was pivoting on his heel again, connecting another blow with his other hand, the force-dampening cuffs he was forced to wear every second of every day, jostled violently as his assault continued. Sweat dripped from his hair-line and rolled down to fall from his chin as he recoiled to throw another punch. His gaze was locked on his target, unwavering, nothing else mattered in that moment but the constant contact of his limbs against their marks. The morning sun went unnoticed, even as it threatened to scorch the uncovered skin of his torso with its encroaching rays. He spun on the ball of his planted foot, and as he turned away, he raised his left leg and extended it out in a devastating blow. Bits and pieces of the practice dummy went flying off in different directions, the thing barely resembling the humanoid form it once took. 

“I think you won this round kid,” he heard his father call from behind him. 

Ben stopped his relentless pummeling of the dummy instantly, the sound of Han’s voice pulling him from his trance-like state. His body was trembling from the exertion of non-stop training that had lasted through most of the night. Ben scanned his eyes over the decimated opponent before him, allowing his eyes to really see it for the first time in hours. If he continued on for much longer he would risk impaling his hands on the exposed wood. He backed away, raising a reddened and bleeding hand to tousle his soaked black hair away from his face.

“I’ll need a new one installed by tomorrow morning then,” Ben grunted, turning his head back towards the doorway that held Han.

“You have a whole training room, Ben, why don’t you use one of those?” Han asked, concerned.

“The house was starting to feel like a cage...I needed air.” Ben started to snap but reined his tone in by the end of the statement.

He sucked in a long breath, steadied his fatigued breathing, and glanced up from his spot in his backyard, taking in the rising Jakku sun, and cursed it. He hadn’t realized that much time had passed. It was well into the late morning and his skin was beginning to feel the start of a burn. He hissed away the discomfort as he stormed his way toward the back door of his overly extravagant home. Han outstretched a towel to him as Ben sulked passed him, into the cool air, and out of the stifling heat. Ben took the towel without a word and wiped his face and bare shoulders dry. He could hear his father following behind him and rolled his eyes in anticipation for the question he knew was hanging between them. 

“I’m fine,” Ben preemptively answered as he made his way into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to examine its contents.

“I didn’t say anything Ben,” Han said sheepishly. “I just want you to know that if you want to talk about them-” he crossed his arms and stopped talking when Ben pulled his head out of the fridge long enough to glare at him pointedly. Han cursed his inability to have a normal conversation with his son, but didn’t push him any more at the moment.

It wasn’t always like this, but when the games loomed near, and the darkness began to overcome Ben, they became closer to strangers, than father and son. Han had woken to the anguished screams of his son every night for the past week, and each night was the same. Ben would wake from his nightmares and forgo returning to sleep in order to go outside and tear another practice dummy to shreds with an endless tirade of flying fists and deadly kicks. Han would collect him and Ben would spend the rest of his day locked in his room.  
None of this was new at this point, every year was the same. The games approached, and the closer they came the more distant Ben gew. The nightmares came and the training Ben regularly practiced turned into a desperate coping mechanism. The reaping either came and went, and things went back to normal, or his name was called and Ben endured a month of the worst hell he could imagine.   
He had been called as tribute six times since he and his father had been banished to Jakku, he had only been fifteen when he ‘won’ his first game. Each time he was called he was met with the same two paths: Either lose and die or win and live to fight another day. He would return home to his lavish prison, and live another eleven months of ‘peace’, before the cycle repeated.   
Over the years, and the many entries to the games, the turmoil that consumed Ben Solo was ever present, but it was always the weeks before the reaping that would pull a dark cloud of despair over the tired young man. With the reaping ceremony just a day away, Ben’s clipped tone was no surprise to Han, and his very soul broke for his son, who was being punished for his misgivings.  
Han watched Ben with worried eyes as he pulled a small glass bottle of liquid from the fridge and closed the door with a loud thud. Ben closed his eyes in frustration at the un-intended slam of the door as he brought the now open bottle to his mouth and began to drink eagerly.   
“Master Ben, is that you? Are you ready for breakfast, sir?” Ben’s eyes shot wide as the voice of their house droid called hopefully from around the corner.  
Curse his father and his pressing stare. He had forgotten about J-12. Again.   
Ben was just about to step through the archway leading to the foyer and greet her when the house droid rounded into the kitchen and almost ran directly into Ben. He was able to quickly remove the bottle from his lips and deftly step to the side, into the foyer, and avoid the tentative J-12.   
“Oh! Master Ben, please forgive me!’” the droid took a feeble step back, raising a hand to her mouth to accentuate her surprise.   
Ben swallowed the last of the water he had in his mouth and turned to give the flustered droid a warm smile, before coily continuing into the foyer, eager to make a hasty escape. “There is nothing to forgive J-12, we have done this just about every day this week. I should have been watching where I was going.”   
J-12 moved farther to the side as Ben continued past her.   
“Oh dear, well is there anything I-” she began, fussing over him, but Ben cut her off.  
“I am not hungry right now J-12, but thank you. I need to go take a shower, I’m filthy,” he called to her, making his way down the hallway that led to his room.   
“I can draw your shower for you, Ma-” she called after him, in an overly happy, mothering tone.  
“No, J-12, I can do it myself, thank you.” he interjected again, trying his best not to snap at the droid.  
She was only doing her job, and truth be told, any other time Ben would indulge her mothering nature. Not right now, not this week, he just wanted desperately to be in the quiet loneliness of his room. He could still feel the worried eyes of his father boring holes into his back, and he could hear J-12, now whispering her concerns to his father, as they followed behind him.  
She worriedly informed Han that Ben wasn’t eating enough. That he had the beginning of a sunburn across his shoulders that should be tended. And that his knuckles were split and caked with blood and sand, and they risked infection if not properly cleaned. He heard Han move quickly around her, trying to catch up to him, telling J-12 he ‘would handle it’ and for her to ‘just go dust something’.   
J-12 politely agreed, noting that the window ledges could indeed use a good wiping down because they, once again, had acquired a thin layer of sand. She mused to herself that she didn’t understand how it kept happening, because the windows were rarely ever opened. Ben didn’t have the heart to tell her that Han had taken to collecting sand from outside, and lined the sills with it when she was powered down for the night, so that he always had a way to distract the ever dutiful droid if her tending became too much to handle.   
With J-12’s obedient departure Ben lengthened his stride, the door to his room almost within reach, but Han was quick on his tail.   
“Ben-” Han called to him, just as his fingers had reached the keypad for his door. He released an exasperated sigh, and paused his retreat.   
“I already told you, I’m fine...I just need to be left alone. I am not myself and I am bound to do or say something I don’t mean. I’m okay. We are okay. Just, please give me space until after the reaping. If this isn’t my year all will be back to normal by tomorrow’s end, and if it is...well then we have bigger problems than a few nightmare filled nights and a couple missed meals. I don’t need the worried dad routine, I don’t need a thousand questions about if I am going to be alright. I just need space to work through this my own way.’’ Ben didn’t turn to face Han as he spoke, and Han didn’t push to interrupt him. He was just happy he had gotten more than five words from him, it didn’t matter that he was telling him to shove off, though he wished he wouldn’t   
“It’s my job to worry about you kid, sorry... No matter how old you get or how much taller than me you grow, I’m still your dad, you know? I can’t help but worry about you. I’ll never get used to seeing you go through this shit.”  
Ben’s skin began to burn and he knew the conversation was over.  
“I know.” he said through gritted teeth as he punched in the code to his door and all but ran inside, once it had slid open.   
Ben doubled over once the door closed, his hands shaking uncontrollably. When he was sure his father had gone, he dropped his mask completely and began to breath hard, ragged breaths. He was a grown man by all accounts, but the pain and fear that was waging an endless war inside him made him feel like no more than a child who wanted nothing more than to throw himself into his father’s arms and beg him to make all of the monsters and pain go away. He would be damned if he let his father see him that way. He couldn’t stand to see the guilt he knew he would find in his father’s eyes, if he were to really tell him just how afraid he was, or let him see just how close to crumbling he had become.   
After a few more steadying breaths Ben righted himself and walked across his grand room to his refresher. He turned on the water to the shower and stripped out of his trousers and undergarments, which had become riddled with sweat and sand. He stepped under the cold water and let it rush over him. It stung the light burn that had indeed formed on the back of his neck and shoulders, but overall it was soothing. He took a deep breath and held his head under the stream of water, and focused on the rhythmic beating of its stream against the back of his head. He pushed all thoughts from his mind and made room only for the constant drumming of the water. The only sound, that of the pressurized hiss it made leaving the shower head.  
When his mind was blank, lulled into a meditative haze by the water, Ben fought against the effects of his cuffs and reached out to the force, as he did so many times before. In his mind he saw the smallest flickering flame and he reached out for it and held tight to its glow. He let its warmth move through him and ease his damaged nerves. He stayed that way until his lungs began to ache and slowly he released his held breath before drawing in another.   
He was grateful for this little spark, knowing that it should not exist because of the cuffs. He knew too well what a world without the force or this light felt like, but ever since he had arrived on Jakku, he found he could access just this little spark of light, though he had no idea why. It wasn’t the grandest thing, but to Ben it was life saving. He had many occasions to thank the little spark for helping ease the terror and pain that threatened to consume him, and this time was no different.  
Droplets of water ran off the tip of his nose and the peak of his lips as he slowly let out another breath. The shaking subsided and his breathing was no longer labored. He turned his face upward and allowed the stream to wash over his face. When he was confident that he had pulled himself far enough out of his agitated state he relaxed in his fight to access the force, and his little light faded from view.  
He set to work cleaning himself. His split knuckles prickled with pain as he washed them of the dried blood and sand, he would have to ask J-12 to fix them up after all. He shook his head in frustration, irritated that he had let himself get so worked up. His mind wandered back to the dream that had plagued him last night and he recoiled and pinched his eyes shut, pushing his head back under the flow of water as flashes of images raged across his mind.

Faces wearing masks of terror as they fled from him. Screams thundering in his ears that tore his soul to shreds. Flesh torn from bones, and too many vacant eyes. His own animalistic screams of rage ripped from snarling lips. Blood, so much blood. 

Ben stifled a sob from escaping his lips as he pushed the memories violently away, he tried with everything in him to find his small flicker of light again and held it in their place. He clung to it desperately, fighting against the cuffs once more as he bathed in its comforting glow. Like the stream of water cleaned his body of the mornings exertions, so too did the light work to chase away the demons of his past.   
*****

Ben was hunched over his desk in his room, eyes scanning over his datapad. The games were unpredictable, each arena was different and pulled its landscaping and trials from any number of combinations of planets. After his first game he started doing as much research as he could into the many worlds of their galaxy. He was eager to know every plant and creature that existed in preparation for the games, and while ultimately it was a tool to potentially be used later, he found early on the knowledge he was able to gain fascinated him, and distracted his thoughts from darker, more sinister things.   
When a knock sounded on his door, Ben pulled himself reluctantly away from an interesting passage about a berry, so powerful that a single fruit could kill a full grown bantha in a matter of moments. 

“Yes?” he called, powering down the datapad. 

“J-12 is almost done with dinner. She won’t take no for an answer on this one, and you really should eat something.” Han’s voice called from the other side of the door.

Ben looked out his window and noticed the vibrant glow of the setting sun. A shiver ran through him with the sudden pricking of anxiety that flooded over his body. The day had come and gone and he hadn’t noticed. He cleared his throat and swallowed back a bit of nausea that had begun to tug at him.

“I’ll be right there.” he called back, hiding the sudden panic from his voice. 

Ben stared down at his, now wrapped knuckles, and sighed out a heavy breath. He would humor J-12 this one, every year on the eve of the reaping they would sit together and have a meal. Though she did not eat, she would sit with them and prattle on about something cheery or Han would tell them a story from his glory days and they would exist together as the broken little family they were. It was unspoken that this tradition was because of the uncertainty of Ben returning home and though the premise was somber, he was grateful.  
J-12 had been with them from the moment they moved into their house, in District Twelve’s Victor Village, after he won his first game. She helped Han get him through those first few months as a young and frightened teen, plagued by the nightmares of the games, and everything he had done to survive. She cared for and nurtured both men all of those years, in many ways she had stepped into the role of mother that Ben was very desperately missing. It was for this reason that if this was to be his last night in their home, he would put on his mask and pretend everything was okay, for what could possibly be, his last meal with her.   
Ben stood from his desk and made his way out to their dining room. J-12 was already setting a plate down in front of Han who thanked her quickly and started in on his plate. She scoffed at him, disappointed that he did not wait for Ben to take his seat before eating, but she said nothing, knowing at this point, correcting Han was pointless.   
“Master Ben! So happy to have you join us. I made your favorite,” J-12 crooned cheerfully, setting Ben’s plate down in front of him as he took his seat.   
Unlike Han, Ben waited for J-12 to take her seat at the table before he began eating. His favorite indeed, in the center of his plate was a perfectly cooked meat pie. The savory smell emitting from its center made his mouth water, and he realized just how hungry he had let himself become.The buttery pastry top crackled pleasantly as he dug in. Like everything J-12 made, it was expertly done, he had nearly finished half of it before he set his fork down and thanked her.  
“This is incredible, J-12, you really out did yourself,” Ben said, flashing her a boyish grin, and earning a chuckle in return. He picked up a crystal glass from beside his plate and took a steady drink, the wine she had chosen had a mild heat to it but went down easily enough. Han, for his part, was halfway through his second glass of wine when he coughed suddenly and violently.   
“Sorry,” he muttered as he cleared the wine and food from his throat. “Wrong pipe.” He looked up to see both Ben and J-12 looking at him in concern. “The, uh-” he paused and looked down at his almost finished plate, “the food is really good, J-J.”   
Ben laughed and raised his glass to J-12, “See, so good you took his breath away,” he said, taking another swig of his drink and gave her a playful wink.   
Han snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Very funny!” he barked, feigning offense.  
J-12 folded her hands excitedly in front of her. “Well, thank you both very much, though, I must recommend that you refrain from allowing food to enter your esophagus, Master Han,” she cooed to him politely.  
Ben couldn’t help but laugh and Han cleared his throat again.  
“Alright, alright, what about a story, have I ever told you guys the story of kessel run?” Han started cheerily.  
Ben rolled his eyes as he finished off his wine, “Yes, I believe so, you made the run in, what was it J-12, seventeen parsecs?” Ben commented, his response thick with sarcasm.  
“I am sorry, Master Ben, but I do believe it was FOURteen parsecs,” She retorted, taking on a similar tone as Ben as they both turned their gazes to Han.  
Han’s face had taken on a reddish tint and he had a look of disdain etched across his features. “IT WAS TWELVE!” he roared playfully, and the whole table erupted into boisterous laughter.  
The rest of the dinner passed by in a similar fashion, the wine had done the trick of easing a bit of the anxiety that creeped across Ben’s skin and he was able to enjoy himself for the most part. He tried to keep his mind from the games, and after a few more stories from Han, some of which were new to Ben, the trio called it a night. J-12 had long since cleared the table of empty dishes and tidied up after them, before she finally bid them good night and tottered off to power down for the night. 

*****

“You should get to bed kiddo.” Han said, pulling Ben’s attention from a small sketch he had absent mindedly been scribing on a durasheet. Ben was twenty-eight years old and still, Han insisted on such childish nicknames. They had since relocated to the livingroom and Ben looked up at Han from his spot in an almost, too small for his frame, chair. Ben took a deep breath and resigned himself to the fact that he should at least try to sleep. He set his drawing aside and rose to stand, teetering slightly from the effects of more wine than he should have admittedly consumed. Han reached forward and steadied his son with a firm hand.   
“ You must get your small tolerance from your mother.” Han joked, lovingly.  
Ben steadied himself and laughed at Han’s jest. “You must be losing it, old man. We both know she could drink you under the table, any day.” He shrugged his father’s hand away gently and made his way to his room. He could hear Han’s laughter fade as he entered his room, and Ben noted that he hadn’t even attempted to argue Ben’s statement.   
The mention of Ben’s mother weighed heavy on his heart, though the buzz he had acquired from the liquor was muddling the pain just a bit. Ben made his way shakily to his desk and picked up a small holocube that sat there. It had been fourteen years since he had last seen his mother in person, and as he stared at the slightly flickering image of his parents on their wedding day, he wondered if she was okay, wherever she was. He hoped she was safe, and happy, but above anything he hoped that he would get to see her again one day. He let his mind wander to her last words to him, before he left with Han on the Falcon.  
Her eyes were red and she did her best to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. Even at the age of fourteen he was almost as tall as her, she shakily pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. He remembered thinking in that moment that he had never seen her look so shaken, so lost, in all of his life. She pressed her lips in his hair and kissed him gently before pulling away to look him in the eyes.   
“I Love you, Ben. May the Force be with you, son.” her voice shook and his chest felt horribly tight. Her gaze moved to Han and her eyes became more stern.   
“You take care of our boy, Solo.” She ordered, and Han clasped Ben’s shoulder in his hand.   
“With my life, sweet heart.” He promised before he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Leia had closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her husband had started ushering Ben up the ramp of the Millennium Falcon.   
“Han!” Leia called, causing him to stop and look back at her, that signature Solo smile spread across his face.  
“I know..” was all he said in return, as the ramp to the Falcon began to rise.   
Ben’s eyes stayed locked on his mother until the very last second, everything in him screaming that something was very wrong. 

Ben shook his head, and cleared the memory from his mind. He was back in his room, staring at his mother’s smiling face. He staggered backward until his calves met his bed frame, and he allowed himself to fall backwards onto the mattress. His head rushed slightly from the alcohol induced haze but he settled himself comfortably on his bed, not bothering to change into his pajamas. He draped an arm over his eyes and focused hard to push the fog from his mind, pushed even harder passed the inhibiting effects of his cuffs and searched for his little spark of light. When he found it, he stayed with it for as long as he could.The last thing he heard before sleep overcame him was the echoing words of his mother replaying in his mind.  
‘May the force be with you’   
With his little light comforting him, he knew it was.


	4. The Reaping- Rey

Rey had been woken by the desperate cries of Prim early in the morning, the sun barely over the horizon. She was able to quiet her after a few minutes but neither one of them moved from their spot on the bed, they just laid beside each other, wrapped in each other’s embrace. She smoothed Prim’s hair and kissed the top of her head.  
“It will be okay, little flower,” she whispered into the silence of the room as Prim nuzzled into the crook of her arm.

Rey’s voice was calm, unwavering, the same tone she had adopted every morning she had to chase away the terrors of Prim’s dreams, but inside her stomach was twisted into unforgiving knots. She wanted very much to tell herself the same comforting words, to convince herself that everything would, indeed, be alright, but though she was able to disguise her words for Prim, Rey could not shake an underlying feeling of danger, and fear.  
It was understandable, of course, for her to be nervous and uncertain, but she couldn’t let go of a constant nagging that her words, though laced with sincerity, were somehow a lie. Her brows furrowed together as she stared at the metal paneling of her ceiling, she slowly took in a long breath and pushed the air out slowly. They just had to get through the day. It would all be over by this time tomorrow and they could all get back to life as normal. 

‘Well, everyone but the tributes…’

Guilt lanced through her at the thought, she desperately hoped that her or Prim’s names would not not be called, or Poe or Max, but she knew that two people would be called, and for them, life would never be the same again, and she envied them none of it. Her mind began to flip through the different faces of people she had met throughout her life on Jakku, wondering if any of them would be chosen. She realized then, that no matter who it was, her heart ached for them, knowing that entering into the games was no different than being sentenced to death. A flash of a face pierced her mind, dark and feral eyes, gnashing teeth, and her stomach seized. 

‘Except for him…’

Out of all of the Planets that supplied tributes for the games, Jakku was one of the few that actually housed a victor, and not just any victor, the victor. The First Order's prized fighting dog, Ben Solo. He was an anomaly in the games, the only person to ever have his name drawn more than once, six times, if she remembered correctly, and every time, he had won. Most people on Jakku believed his name getting pulled was staged, and that if he was fighting, everyone in the games alongside him would not make it home, and that this was the will of the First Order.  
According to the holos he was their prized warrior, their prince of darkness and murder, a capitol favorite. He was the grandson of the sith lord Vader. Son of infamous rebel fighters Han Solo and Leia Organa. It was said that at a turning point in the war, Han betrayed the resistance, handing over vital information to The First Order. Information that led to the destruction of the last jedi warrior and the snuffing out of all rebel fighters. As a reward for his aid, Han was pardoned and made a mentor in the games and his son was taken under the wing of the First Order, to be their champion in the games.  
It had not gone unnoticed amongst the gossipers of Jakku, that whenever he was entered into the games, the normal career fighters, people who normally volunteered for sport and glory, would stay silent, letting whoever was drawn from their planet in the reaping, go to the games, and be slaughtered by the rabid hound of the of the first order. Another flash in Rey’s memory showed Ben Solo pummeling a poor boy’s face so relentlessly. It was reduced to nothing more than a smashed, pulpy mess. A shudder racked through her and she shook her head slightly, causing Prim to peek up from her spot beside her. 

“You okay?” her voice was thick with sleep and residual roughness from her screaming fit, but Rey could tell her concern now was for Rey and Rey alone.

“Yeah, I’m alright, just shaking some motivation into my bones. We have to get up and get ready.” Her eyes lit up as she smiled at Prim and rose from her spot on the bed.  
“C’mon.” She patted her now empty place and turned to leave the room. 

Rey heard shuffling behind her as Prim followed her reluctantly. She made her way down the hallway, eager to get some food into her stomach before broaching the trials of the day ahead. When she entered the small kitchenette she froze, eyes wide in her skull. Prim ducked to the side to see what had caused the abrupt stop in the walkway.  
Mother was moving around the room, fussing with dishes and portions and cooking something on their small stove. She froze in place when she noticed the girls. Her eyes held Rey’s for a moment before looking away bashfully. Rey had to focus on not letting her jaw fall slack, her gaze flickering from surprise, to confusion, then joy. She was just about to find her words when mother spoke, causing Rey’s brain to fuzzy in confusion again, her words dying before they could be formed.

“Good morning girls, I have breakfast started,” her voice was tender, but Rey could feel the underlying guilt that ran through her as she spoke.  
She watched as Mother continued to bustle around the cramped room, keeping her hands busy with finishing the meal she had started preparing. Rey was still frozen in place, not one time since Father passed away had Mother ever been remotely functional on the day of the reaping. Now, here she was, fluttering around the kitchen like she wasn’t aware of what day it was, when just yesterday she had been lost to the world. Rey was locked in her thoughts when Prim gently pushed her way around her and ran to Mother, arms flying wide.

“Mama!” She called ecstatically. 

Rey watched as Prim buried her face in Mother’s skirt and hugged her tight. Mother paused, holding a bowl with shaking hands as she looked down solemnly at the top of Prim’s head. 

“Good morning, Primrose,” Mother reaffirmed sweetly, her voice shaking slightly. 

As she took in the scene before her a realization began to flood over Rey. Mother was doing this for Prim. She could see the uncertainty in her eyes, the red puffiness that rimmed them. She noticed every quake of her hands and shudder of breath she tried to keep under control. Prim was oblivious to it, just happy to have Mother awake and present with her again. Though Rey was quickly filling with a similar happiness, it was only serving to wash away the jealousy that had cut through her, with the initial realization. She stepped forward, pushing away the negative and relishing in the sight of Mother, up and about again. She joined the pair in the center of the room and wrapped them both in a loving embrace. 

“Good morning, Mama,” Rey whispered happily, pressing a gentle kiss into her hair. 

The three of them stood in their embrace for a long moment before Mother’s shaking became so pronounced that Rey feared Prim would notice. She pulled away from the hug, rubbing a reassuring arm up and down Mother’s back. 

“Something smells amazing Mama, what did you make?” Rey moved to the far corner of the room, sitting on one of their small stools. 

Mother snapped back, remembering the food on the stove instantly. 

“Well, I found some meat in the conservator and used some of that, I’m afraid it isn’t anything special but I thought it would be nice for you to have something more than portions before…” her words trailed off and Rey watched as the light behind her eyes dimmed. Prim had come to sit by Rey and they both were watching Mother now, with bated breath. It was Prim that beat Rey to the punch this time, finally realizing that Mother wasn’t all there after all.

“Thank you Mama.” Prim’s voice rang out through the room. As her words registered in Mother’s ears Rey watched the light flicker back into her eyes, a nervous smile forcing its way into her lips. 

“You’re welcome sweetie. Here, dig in.” Mother turned as she spoke and handed both girls a bowl, each containing rehydrated portions, and a small plate with a few pieces of fried meat. 

Prim tucked into her meal happily and Rey was about to do the same when she realized that mother had not made any food for herself and was beginning to space out again.

“Did you eat today Mama?” Rey cooed to her from across the room and Mother’s head snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her lovingly. 

“Yes, dear, when I first woke up.” she said as she flashed a sweet smile to Rey. 

Her hands began fidgeting with the creases of her blouse. She was lying.  
Rey didn’t call her out on it, but instead returned the smile and began eating her own meal. The two girls sat and ate in silence as Mother went about straightening up the overly cluttered room, adjusting something here and storing a random thing there, continuing to keep her hands busy. It was like she couldn’t be still for a single moment, lest her troubling thoughts swallow her whole. When she found that there was nothing left for her to fidget with, Mother took a deep, steadying breath. 

“I pulled out outfits for both of you for today,” Mother all but whispered from her spot in the room. “They are sitting on my bed, when you are finished eating you should both get changed.” Each word sounded farther away than the one that came before. 

She was trying so hard to keep herself together, but Rey could feel the fear radiating off of her, she could tell that every word she spoke, every movement she made was taking every ounce of will power she had. Rey hated seeing her like this. Without the games looming around Mother was normally, bubbly, overly cheerful even. She loved her girls, and found joy in them. Life could be hard on Jakku but their time together as a family was filled with so much love, it made the hard times all the more worth it. It pained Rey to see her struggle so much with even the simplest acts of being a mother, and though she may have been slightly jealous that it was Prim, not Rey, that seemed to be enough to bring her out of her stupor, she was just happy she was able to get a glimpse of who she normally was. It filled her with hope that maybe one day, the games wouldn’t affect her so horribly. 

***** 

Rey had just finished tying her hair into her normal three buns, pulling a few strands to hang loose and frame her face. She used Mother’s full length mirror to look herself over. She was wearing a sky blue dress, the fabric was light and breathable, and it flowed with even the gentlest of breeze. She had opted to keep her chest wrappings on and was grateful for the coverage they supplied, the neckline of the gown dipped down much too far for her liking. She had seen Mother wear this dress many times in her life and she had always admired the way it looked on her, so delicate and feminine. But seeing it on herself, she was way out of her comfort zone, it was so different from the pants and tunic she normally wore. When she was sure that she had everything the way she wanted it she left Mother’s room.  
She was about to make her way to the front of their home when movement to her left caught her eye. Prim was in the middle of their room adjusting the skirt mother had put out for her. It was one of Rey’s old ones, but it looked adorable on her younger sister. She seemed to be having a hard time tucking in the frilly, cream shirt that went with it, a portion of it sticking out defiantly in the back. Rey giggled with amusement, alerting Prim of her presence before entering their room and dropping herself down to be eye level with the younger girl.  
“You have a droopy petal Little Flower, let me help.”  
Rey began tucking in the ends of the shirt, making sure it was nice and even all the way around.  
“There, all done.” She smiled at Prim, ready to stand again, when she finally noticed that Prim was gawking at her.

“Prim?” Rey started quizzically, snapping Prim back into focus. 

“You look beautiful,” Prim sighed out in admiration.  
Rey felt heat spread across her cheeks. She shook her head and laughed, rising to stand again.  
“Not as beautiful as you,” She said booping Prim playfully on the nose with a finger. The girls erupted into a small fit of laughter that ended when Prim wrapped her arms around Rey’s waist. She held her there, grateful for the moment of joy between them, but it was abruptly cut short when the alarm system Rey had set up began chiming, indicating that someone was approaching the AT-AT. Rey furrowed her brow and moved quickly from the room. Once she made her way passed the kitchenette she could see Mother in the small lounging room, moving to reach toward the door. She was about to call out to her when she pulled the latch and the door swung open, letting in the bright sunlight.  
Rey blinked as the light filled the room, once her eyes adjusted, she was surprised to see Poe standing just outside their door. He looked equally surprised, but he wasn’t looking at Rey, he was beaming happily at Mother, and reached forward after a moment to take her hand.  
“Good to see you Mrs. Everdeen,” he brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it quickly, flashing her a handsome smile.  
“Good morning Poe,” Mother replied bashfully, moving out of the way so he could come inside.  
“I won’t be staying long, they will be signaling for us soon, I came to see if the girls wanted an escort to the reaping.” He gestured outside and Rey followed the motion to see his speeder parked a short ways away from their front door, with Poe’s younger brother Max still sitting inside. Rey looked back to him with a knowing look in her eyes and he wagged his eyebrows at her, a mischievous grin on his face.  
“I figured we could show up in style, give the kids something to look forward to,” he said, as he moved to stand next to Rey.  
“You look good, Scraps, you clean up nice,” he complimented her.  
“Don’t look too bad yourself, I almost didn’t recognize you without all of the grime,” she elbowed him lightly in his arm and they both laughed.  
He was wearing black slacks, tucked into his boots and a white button up top that was just slightly too big for him, and Rey knew it must have belonged to his father, she had just finished giving him a onces over with her eyes when Prim’s voice chimed out of nowhere.  
“Poe!?” Prim exclaimed, causing everyone to turn and look at her in surprise. Poe feigned disbelief when he saw her, pretending to stagger back a few steps.  
“Flower? Is that my princess!?” He smiled from ear to ear and threw his arms wide, intentionally missing Rey’s face by an inch, causing her to duck out of the way laughing. Prim darted to him and launched herself into his arms. He caught her with ease and swung her around before wrapping her in a firm hug that seemed to swallow her whole. Rey smiled at the two of them, happy to see her sister so full of her normal happiness. Poe was Prim’s knight in scrap metal armour, her whole world, outside of their little family.  
Over the years that he and Rey had been friends, Prim had become his little shadow. Whenever he would come around she was there and when Rey would go to Poe’s to help him work on his newest project Prim would beg to come along. She got along fine with his brothers, sure, but she always ended up back by Poe’s side.  
“What are you doing here, Poe?” Prim asked earnestly when he set her back down on the ground.  
“I-” he began, flourishing an arm towards the still open door, “ finished my speeder, and I was wondering if you would allow me the honor of escorting you to the reaping today.” His tone was thick with charm and grandeur, causing Rey to roll her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She knew this show was all for Prim, in an attempt to quell some of her fears. At first it seemed like it had worked, her eyes lit up as they took in the speeder parked outside, but it quickly extinguished once the rest of his statement settled into her mind, her smile dropping steadily with each passing second. Everyone's eyes were on her. Mother had shifted to stand back by the kitchenette and was now using the counter to keep herself steady, Rey released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and was about to move to comfort her sister when Poe knelt down to look her in the eyes instead.  
“Hey, hey, hey come here.” He wrapped his arms around her again, and she buried her face in his chest.  
“Rey told me you are afraid of the reaping, I’m not going to tell you it isn’t scary ok, you know me, I wouldn’t lie to you. It's scary. But listen, nothing will happen to you, got that? Your name is only in there once, one single time Prim, the odds of your name getting called today or as good as impossible. So we just have to put on a brave face until it is all over and then I’ll take you out on the speeder, just the two of us okay?”  
Prim pulled her head back, tears threatening to spill over, and though she still looked upset she nodded eagerly at him, trying to pull the smile back to her lips.  
“There you go. It will be okay.” Poe cupped her face lightly with his hands and kissed her gently on her forehead.  
“You can do it Prim, we will be right there with you,” he cooed to her softly and she nodded her head solemnly. As if on queue a long drawn out horn sounded in the distance and everyone’s attention was pulled momentarily toward the door.  
Poe looked back to Prim and held out his hand, which she took in earnest, clinging to it like her life depended on it. He rose to stand again and looked to Mother, who looked like she was about to faint at any moment.  
“Mrs. Everdeen, there is room on the speeder for one more if you wanted to ride with us, spectators still have some time before they need to get there, but I would hate for you to have to walk all the way to the amphitheater.”  
Rey pulled her gaze from outside to look at Mother and her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She seemed worlds away as she began mumbling her reply to Poe.  
“N-no, thank you dear, I will walk, it might do me some good to make my way there on my own.” Her voice could no longer hide the panic and though Rey understood why she was feeling this way, part of her wished she was able to better hide it, for Prim’s sake.  
“We will meet you in the stands after the reaping is finished, okay Mama?” Rey was calm, a brave face plastered over her nerves. Mother nodded, clutching desperately to the counter.  
“I'll see you then.” Mother replied, her voice shaking with each word.  
Prim pulled her hand from Poe’s and ran to Mother hugging her tight for a quick moment before returning to Poe and holding his hand. The horn sounded long and loud outside again and Poe and Rey shared a look between themselves, both checking to make sure the other was ready. They both nodded at the same time, Rey reaching out for Prim’s free hand as the three of them made their way out to the speeder.  
When they arrived, Max was pulling at his collar, obviously frustrated by the stuffy clothes he had to wear in the rising heat. It always seemed silly to Rey for them to have to dress this way for the reaping, but rules were rules. Max threw his hands down in frustration and glanced up. He smiled at the girls when he saw them, but Rey noticed it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.  
Max had just turned fourteen, this would be his third time going to the reaping. He seemed to be holding himself together a fair bit better than he had the past two years, and Rey wondered if he might be putting on a brave face because of Prim. She and Poe had noticed the two of them becoming closer recently and they threw around the idea that they might be forming a slight crush on each other. Rey thought it was cute, but Poe told her that he was going to rough him up a bit to make sure he treated Prim well. They both knew Max was really a sweetheart through and through, but Prim was Poe’s princess and he was determined to protect her, even from his own brother.  
“Scoot punk, make room for the ladies!” Poe called playfully to Max, reaching out to ruffle his curly black hair.  
“Ow-geez,-cut it out Poe!!” Max exclaimed, batting Poe’s hand away and attempting to smooth down his hair, his cheeks taking on a slightly pinkish hue.  
He shuffled as far into the speeder as he could get before reaching out a hand for Prim. She hesitated for a moment before dropping Poe’s hand and taking Max’s, joining him in the speeder.  
“Hey Prim,” Max greeted her.  
“Hey Max,” Prim replied, her nerves apparent in her voice.  
“You look very nice today,” Max added.  
Prim blinked at him for a moment, her cheeks turning their own shade of pink before she looked down, as if she forgot what she was wearing.  
“Oh, thank you Max.” she replied quietly.  
Poe squinted his eyes in between the two of them before looking at Rey. They both shared a brief look, his asking if she was seeing what he was, but she just smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. Poe shook his head and climbed into the speeder, leaving enough room for her to climb in behind him. 

*****

The ride to the amphitheater was quiet, save for the hum of the speeder. The closer they got the more the tension could be felt amongst the group. The younger two were both now visibly uncomfortable, Poe had dawned a firmly locked jaw and angry eyes. Rey masked herself in a fake calm but as the amphitheater came into view, her emotions became a whirlwind of anxiety and overwhelming fear. She had a sinking in her stomach that she just couldn’t shake. It was normal to be nervous, especially knowing that her name had been entered on more than one occasion in exchange for portions over the years, but this felt like more than just nerves. It gnawed at Rey, but she did not want to worry Prim more than she already was, so she kept her face smooth and devoid of fear as Poe parked the speeder and powered it down, her eyes scanning the scene in front of her.  
The amphitheater stood not far off in the distance, it was a massive circular structure, the focal point of which was a large half moon stage in the center that backed up to a small building, the same building that Rey had said her goodbyes to Father when he entered the games. Spreading out in front of the stage was a large, arching plot of sand, sectioned off into two sides, one for males and the other for females, this is where all eligible participants of the reaping would stand during the ceremony. Passed that, closest to where the small group now stood, were the stands, where the families of those who will be reaped are meant to spectate. Rey and Poe exited the speeder and helped the younger two down. Rey took Prim’s hand, smoothing her thumb across its back. A strong arm clapped down on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly.  
“See you on the other side Scraps.” Poe said, squeezing her arm slightly.  
“Good luck,” she returned as he turned his attention to Prim.  
“Chin up, princess. It will all be over soon,” he called to her, flashing her a toothy grin.  
Prim nodded stiffly, pulling her gaze away from the crowd of people in time to return his smile before he began to usher Max toward the sign in tables.  
Rey followed them for a moment with her eyes before bringing her attention back to Prim.  
“Ready?” she asked gently.  
“N-not really, but do I have a choice?” Prim asked, visibly shaking as her eyes scanned the growing crowd of people.  
“Not really.” Rey half heartedly laughed in response.  
“Can-can you explain it, for me? How it all will happen?” Prim asked, panic starting to well in her voice.  
“Of course.” Rey replied warmly.

At this Rey squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and began to move them toward the sign in tables, Prim following her reluctantly, still clutching her hand tightly.  
“First we will have to go to the sign in table for our age groups. The one for girls your age is there.” Rey stated, pointing to a table a short distance away. “They are going to ask for your name and take a little blood-” Prim staggered, slowing her movement, causing Rey to break off her explanation.  
When she looked down at Prim her chest was rising and falling dramatically with panicked breaths.  
“You didn’t say-” she began, her voice cracking with fear.  
“It’s ok, it's no big deal. It is just a small prick, you have hurt yourself worse helping Poe in the shop, okay? They just need enough to confirm your identity.”  
Rey knelt down as she spoke and hugged Prim close, ignoring the disgruntled murmures from the passersby that were irritated that they had stopped in the middle of the crowd trying to sign in. She rubbed her back a few times trying to calm her nerves, before pulling back and looking her in the eyes.  
“That is the worst part, I promise, then it's just getting through the ceremony. All you have to do is get signed in and wait with the other small kids. I will be right across from you and I will come get you as soon as it is over.” Rey tried to make it seem like no big deal, as easy as breathing, but she could tell her words did little to sooth Prim’s fear. She chewed her lip slightly, trying to think of something more to say, but was coming up short. A long drawn out horn sounded again causing Rey to look up from her sister, at the growing crowd forming around the amphitheater.  
“We have to go now Prim, we don’t want to anger the troopers by lagging behind.’’ She rose as she spoke and ushered Prim toward her table.  
“I’ll see you soon, Little Flower.” Rey cooed, leaning in to give Prim one last hug, the younger girl squeezed back tightly before reluctantly letting her go.  
Once Prim was in her line Rey made her way quickly to hers. On the way, she made the effort to push away all of the negative feelings eating at her and put all of her focus into keeping an eye on Prim. She watched as Prim moved up in her own line and was eventually face to face with the trooper managing her table. She held her breath as Prim gave them her name and extended her hand so they could prick her finger. She watched as her sister winced against the sudden prick of the needle, but was proud to see the relief that flooded over her when it was done. Prim was ushered into the amphitheater and took her spot with the other girls her age. Rey was vaguely aware that she had reached the front of her own line, reaching out her hand and giving her name as her eyes scanned the crowd ahead of her, so many people had filed in now, that she had lost sight of Prim and her stomach flipped, sending a wave of nausea through her. She didn’t even wince when she felt the prick of the needle in her finger.  
“All good, carry on.” instructed the trooper at her table, but Rey was already moving toward the entrance of the amphitheater before he could even finish speaking.  
She filed into the crowd of women her age and scanned the section that held Prim’s age group. When her eyes found her, Rey exhaled her held breath. Prim was standing in a group of girls that Rey recognized as Prim’s friends. Relief pushed some of the worry away when she caught a smile spread across Prim’s face. The girls around her were talking animatedly about something. It seemed like they were unbothered by the events that were about to unfold, and while Rey didn’t share their sense of ease, she was happy that at the very least, they had been able to distract Prim from her fears, even for a moment.  
With Prim seemingly at ease Rey allowed herself to relax as much as her nerves would allow. She took a few steadying breaths and looked around at her surroundings. The last wave of people were moving in from the check in stations behind her and the spectators were already filled with members of the village that were not part of the reaping. She looked for Mother but could not pick her out amongst the crowd, and wondered if she decided to stay at home after all.  
A grand fanfare filled the amphitheater and the crowd silenced immediately, everyone’s attention pulling to the stage at the center of the amphitheater. Two long holographs appeared on either side of the stage showing the symbol of The First Order with the number twelve underneath.  
The door to the building that backed the stage opened relieving Effie Trinket, District Twelve’s advisor in the games. She was dressed in an overly extravagant, pink outfit that seemed to Rey to be, nothing more than a mess of frills and bows. Effie strut purposefully out to the microphone that stood at center stage, her skin seeming to twinkle in the sunlight as she walked. When she reached her destination Effie paused for a moment, surveying the crowd in front of her, a beaming smile plastered across her face. The fanfare quieted down and Effie’s animated voice echoed cheerfully around the stadium.  
“A wonderful welcome everyone! It is my deepest pleasure to be here with all of you, on this, our day of reaping. A Happy Hunger Games from your most humble advisor, and may the odds be ever in your favor.” She paused for a long moment, as if to allow cheers or applause, but none came. She continued on, unfazed by the crowds lack of enthusiasm addressing them once again in a bubbly tone.  
“Before we begin with the reaping, I have a very special holo for all of you, sent directly from our beloved game maker, General Armatige Hux!”  
The fanfare boomed in the amphitheater once more and a third, much larger holopragh appeared above Effie’s head, and climbed to the height of the building behind her. The First Order emblem appeared boldly as the music reached a crescendo and then General Hux appeared, looking proud in his finely pressed military uniform. The crowd shifted uncomfortably as his shrill voice boomed pompously from the holo.

“War, necessary war, to eradicate the uprising that rocked our galaxy. Wives were made widows,children orphans, mothers were left to wonder if they would ever see their children’s faces again. All because a traitorous group rebelled against the Empire that fed them, loved them, and protected them. Brother turned on brother until nothing remained..” 

As he spoke the holo changed to show images of the war against the rebellion. Tie fighters and X-wings locked in matches to the death. People on planets across the galaxy engaging in battle, troopers and rebels succumbing to the ravages of war.  
Rey grit her teeth and looked away from the holo, finding that many of the group were doing the same, some even murmuring to other members that stood close by as quietly as they could manage. This holo was played at the beginning of every reaping on each planet, and was broadcasted to every holostation across the galaxy, and it was absolute lugga shit. 

“..And then came the time of peace, hard fought, sorely won. The people rose up from the ashes and The First Order was born. But peace has a cost, with the rebels defeated, we swore as a galaxy, that we would never know this treason again..”

Rey looked across the crowd and found Prim again, her and the other young girls were enraptured with the video. Most of them would have seen this clip before, but the added emotion of actually being in the reaping made for a more intense impact on the younger citizens of Jakku.  
Rey continued to scan the crowd moving on to where Poe’s age group was standing. When she found him he seemed to be searching for her as well, when their eyes met he paused and smiled. Rey smiled back and jerked her head toward the holo that was still booming on. She rolled her eyes in exasperation, earning a toothy grin from Poe and a shake of his head. His face pulled into serious, hard lines and he mouthed ‘Prim’ to her questioningly. She gave him a thumbs up and inclined her head in Prim’s direction, and he nodded.

“..And so it was decreed, that each year, the twelve planets, chosen to represent the galaxy, would offer up in tribute, one young man and woman, to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice. The lone victor bathed in riches, would serve as a reminder of The First Order’s generosity and its forgiveness. This is how we remember our past. This is how we safeguard our future. May the odds be ever in your favor.”

The holo began showing clips of previous hunger games, and their victors, All of them smiling wide like they were the luckiest people in the galaxy. All but one, whose dark stare was full of intense fury. As the holo came to an end Hux again stood front and center, addressing the people of the galaxy. As his voice proudly professed the tagline of the games, both Poe and Rey mimicked his boastful tone, scrunching their faces and tipping their noses too far into the air. As his last words rang around the amphitheater the main holograph disappeared.  
Effie began enthusiastically clapping her hands, and the low murmur in the crowd silenced, but no one joined her in her jubilance. All at once the amphitheater was thick with anxiety, all eyes on the effervescent advisor. 

“Now is the time you have all been waiting for, the time for us to select one couragous young woman and man for the honor of representing District 12 in this year's Hunger Games. As always, ladies first!” With her excited declaration Effie gestured to the holograph that was stationed to her left side, the one that stood in front of the large group of female participants. 

The First Order emblem that had been floating stationary began to spin so fast that it blurred. Rey could hear a collective intake of breath as the women around her stared at the holo in front of them. Without warning the emblem slammed to a halt and a name appeared in bold letters at its center. The collective breath that had been held was released as relieved women realized that they had been spared for another year. But Rey held tight to hers, unable to process what her eyes were reading. 

“Primrose Everdeen!” Effie’s ecstatic voice rang out across the stadium.

‘No.’

There was a low murmur growing in the crowd as cries of terror tore out from the spectator stands. The crow turned to find Mother being held up by other members in the stands as she collapsed to her knees and wailed desperately. Rey did not turn, eyes still locked on the holo before her. 

‘Surely not.’

Her mind was racing, desperately trying to make sense of the letters that seemed to mock her and her inability to comprehend them.  
“Primrose Everdeen? Where are you darling?” Effie cooed to the crowd excitedly. The holo shifted, showing a live feed of the crowd, searching for the lucky tribute. The wailing from the spectator stand was growing quiet as some compassionate residents removed Mother from the amphitheater. Though Rey was still staring at the holo, her vision had glazed over, no longer taking in anything that appeared there. Her whole body was on fire, like she was being prodded by a thousand searing pin pricks.

‘It’s impossible.’

Slowly the other young girls near Prim began to back away from her, their faces ashen and morouse, leaving a stunned and trembling Prim in the center of a small, empty circle. The holo zoomed in on her broadcasting her for the galaxy to see. 

“Oh! There she is! Well, come up dear! Come! Come!” Effie cheered as she waved Prim forward. 

When she appeared on the holo Rey’s vision unglazed and hyper focused on every single detail she could take in of the young girl. Prim began to move forward, stumbling slightly as she made her way out of the crowd, and into the aisle, leading to the stage. Two troopers moved to flank her on either side escorting her as she went. Her chest was rising and falling with short labored breaths. Rey took each one in, not realizing that she was still holding her own breath, trapping it, desperate, in her lungs. Prim and her escorts had made it halfway to the stage when Prim began fussing with her blouse, absently reaching to tuck in the bottom, smoothing it out.  
In an instant images of Mother desperately fidgeting with her blouse this morning sprang up in Rey’s mind, followed by the moment in their room with Rey tucking in Prim’s shirt, her promise over the last week echoing around in her head.

‘I won’t let anything happen to you, you know that right?’

‘no…..NO!’

All at once Rey felt as though she had taken a hard blow, right to her chest and all of the air she had been holding in, exploded out, her head snapping away from the holo searching frantically for her sister

“PRIM!’’ She screeched, not realizing that she had shoved her way out the crowd and was now running up the aisle, eyes locked on Prim.

“Prim, Primrose!‘’ Rey’s voice cracked as she called out to her, rushing forward to meet her. The troopers that had been escorting Prim turned abruptly and blocked Rey from reaching her, ordering her to move back into her group. Rey ducked between their legs quickly and grabbed Prim, wrapping her protectively in her arms. The troopers descended on her at once wrenching her arms from around the now sobbing Prim. 

“No!! No, let me go, let her go! Please, Prim!” Rey begged as the troopers fought to pull her away from her sister. Flashes tore through Rey’s mind as she reached for Prim, of every death she had ever witnessed in the games. She felt sure she was going to vomit from fear when a moment of fierce clarity lanced through her, stilling her instantly.  
“I volunteer…’’ her voice was hardly a whisper, and the guards began pulling her away from Prim, her boots dragging through the sand. She drew in a long steady breath and forcefully planted her feet. When the troopers stumbled, she shoved hard against them, breaking free of their hold, stepping forward with purpose. 

“I Volunteer as tribute!” She stood firm and glared angrily at Effie as the troopers moved to take hold of her once more. 

Effie looked on in bewilderment for a moment before a beaming smile spread across her face. 

“It seems, ladies and gentleman, that we have a volunteer. This is a first for the people of Jakku, what an honorable young woman, please dear, come here!” Effie called eagerly to Rey.  
Prim ran to Rey, and clung to her skirt, crying thick hot tears into the fabric. Rey knelt and smoothed her hair trying desperately to calm her.  
“Prim you have to go, find mama okay? Go..’’ she cooed desperately.  
‘’No...you can’t go!’’ Prim wailed.  
“I have to Prim, you need to get out of here, please, I'm sorry.’’ Rey desperately pleaded with her.

The troopers began reaching for Prim, causing her to wail in alarm, pleading to stay with Rey. Prim struggled to get out of their arms as a loud voice boomed from behind them.

“Let her go! I'll take her, can’t you see she is terrified!?” Poe pushed his way into the aisle and scooped Prim up out of the trooper’s grasps. 

They reluctantly released her and she curled into Poe’s chest, sobbing hysterically. He caught Rey’s gaze for a moment and her stomach lurched when she realized he was holding back tears.  
“Thank you” she whispered and he nodded in return, turning to rush Prim from the amphitheater. Before she could see them safely from the stadium the troopers began goading Rey to move toward the stage.  
Effie was still beckoning out to her happily, as if everything was perfectly right in the world. Rey moved steadily forward, a haze falling over her entire existence. She was trying to mentally catch up to everything that just happened. She was still coming to terms with her predicament when she came to stand at Effie’s left side. She smelled overly sweet and partially floral and it made Rey’s head swim. Effie took her hand and shook it happily but Rey was unable to return any of the sentiment. 

“Jakku’s first ever volunteer, and tell us darling, what is your name?” Effie asked happily.  
“Rey…” she barely recognized her voice as it sounded around the amphitheater.

“Well, can I just say Rey, that was utterly breathtaking what you just did out there. So full of passion, so full of love, I would be willing to bet, that that young girl was your sister, is that correct?” Effie asked boisterously, playing her part for the cameras flawlessly.

Rey took a breath and nodded slightly, “Yes…” she replied, her voice quiet, but still picked up easily by the microphone in front of them.  
Her voice sounded worlds away. Her eyes swept over the faces in the crowd, not really taking anything in. 

Effie’s hands flew animatedly to her heart and she cooed lovingly to the crowd, “Isn’t that so wonderful everyone? Please give a round of applause for your female tribute, and Jakku’s very first volunteer, Rey Everdeen!”

Effie began clapping, full of passion and excitement, but after a moment her applause died down to nothing as she took in the scene before her. Not a single person in the crowd clapped, instead one by one they raised three fingers to their lips and then extended them out towards Rey, their expressions mournful. Rey’s eyes came into focus as she watched, her heart clenching in her chest. This was a long standing tradition amongst the people of Jakku, often used at funerals, or before someone left the planet on a lengthy endeavor, but ultimately it was a sign of respect, a silent goodbye. Rey found she was struggling to choke back tears, most of these people didn’t know her, the competitive nature of Jakku’s scavenging system normally forced people to only look after and care for their own, but now it seemed like every single resident present in the amphitheater stood saluting her, save for the troopers and Effie. 

“Well… isn’t that… special...” Effie’s normal peppy tone was shaken, the action causing her to become verklempt. 

There was a long silence as the pair took in the sight, but suddenly Effie remembered herself and snapped back into the perfect hostess she prided herself on being and addressed the crowd once more. 

“Now!” she beamed, “On to the gentleman!”

With a flourish she extended her hand out gesturing to the holograph on her right side, stationed in front of the men and boys. A familiar quiet fell over the crowd as the emblem began spinning. Rey looked away after a moment, the spinning doing nothing to help her nausea. Faces ran through her mind, as she wondered who her partner would be. At first all she saw were strangers, men and boys whose faces she knew, but whose identities eluded her.  
As her anxiety rose, Max’s face flashed before her eyes, then Poe’s, what would she do if it was one of them? Her stomach flipped and she clenched her teeth against another wave of panic fueled sickness. She could tell when the emblem had stopped, because the crowd instantly erupted into shocked murmurs before her. She looked at their faces, everyone held a disappointed look of shock and….was that pity?  
There seemed to be an abnormally long pause between the beginning of the murmurs and Effie’s voice, but when she heard it, Rey couldn't help but notice that it had lost its overly joyous hue and had a twinge of sadness as she stumbled over the start of the name.  
“Ben..” a pause as Effie collected herself, and Rey’s eyes snapped, terrified, to the holo, “Ben Solo!”  
Effie had returned enough of her normal flamboyant flair to almost be convincing, but there was just the slightest hint of defeat laced around each perfectly enunciated syllable. Rey stopped breathing then, her vision darkening into a poignant tunnel of darkness. 

The holo ridded itself of the stagnant image and began displaying live feed of the group of men. It was not hard to find him, the other men that had stood near him were already shuffling away from him like he was diseased, scowls of disgust etched on their faces.  
Ben lumbered forward, his legs propelling him toward the stage with long strides. His expression was dark and contemplative as he climbed the stage. Effie reached out her arm for him as he joined the pair, coming to stand on Effie’s right side. She smiled at him sweetly as he took his place. She gingerly placed a hand on his back, only for a moment, before dropping it and turning her attention back to the crowd.  
“Here we have it, our tributes from District 12, the planet Jakku. Rey Everdeen and Ben Solo!” Effie announced, completely back into her normal bravado. She gestured to both Ben and Rey before taking a few steps back, so they were left front and center on the stage.  
There was a slight pause before she kindly addressed her tributes, ”Oh, come now you two, shake hands,” she encouraged sweetly, playing up her request for the crowd, and the holos that were watching their every move. 

Rey was visibly shaking now, all that played her mind was every death of every man, woman, and child at Ben’s hands. Sickening thuds, snapping bones, screams of anguish, pleas for mercy that went unheeded. At Effie’s request Rey’s vision came reluctantly into foccus and she turned to face Ben, looking at him for the first time.  
He towered over her, her head only rising to mid chest level. He looked monstrous, and everything in Rey’s mind was screaming for her to run. She cursed herself for not taking Poe up on his offer yesterday. Anything to get away from this man, this murderer that stood before her. He too had turned to face her, gazing down at her with steel guarded eyes that made her feel immeasurably small. He took half of a step toward her and extended out a hand for her to take. She flinched away from him slightly, catching the movement of his hand in her peripheral vision. A flicker of something crossed his eyes when he noticed her apparent fear, and the only name she was able to label it with, was shame. She wrenched her gaze from his and focused on her task at hand.  
She drew in a steadying breath and raised her hand to meet his. As it moved to close the distance between them, Rey couldn’t help but notice she was trembling horribly, her nerves completely shot. She swallowed hard, their hands just a small distance from each other, when she noticed it. There was an odd tension lingering around him that seemed to hum through her the closer her hand came to his. She furrowed her brow in confusion, pushing past the feeling to take his hand.  
She sucked in a broken gulp of air as his hand engulfed hers, the moment their palms met she was slammed by a tidal wave of unrelenting calm, and peace. Her eyes flew to his in an instant. The tears she had been holding back began spilling silently down her cheeks as she looked up at him. Her eyes were full of shock and confusion, and as they searched his, begging for answers, they only found that his once dark and brooding expression now mirrored hers in bewilderment.  
They seemed frozen, hands clasped together, and Effie seemed to move in slow motion as she proudly clapped her hands together, cheering out to the crowd.  
“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!” She roared triumphantly to the onlookers and a boisterous fanfare rang out around the amphitheater once more.  
All at once time seemed to catch back up with itself and the startled pair released each other's hands, a darkness flooding over Ben’s eyes. The holographs disappeared as the fanfare boomed on, Effie turned, smiling wide and ushered them towards the door at the back of the stage.  
“Right you two, this way!” she called cheerily.  
When they reached the door, it flew open, revealing a long corridor with a large door at the far end and two smaller doors on either side. Ben didn’t wait for anymore instructions, he walked briskly to the small door on their left and entered the room without a single word. Effie followed him with her eyes as he went, but said nothing to stop him. Rey noticed that she looked very concerned and, had she not still been wrapped in a multitude of her own conflicting emotions, she would have asked about it. Effie led Rey over to the door on their right and paused as it slid open in front of them. She turned to Rey with a smile and gestured to the small small room. 

“You will have 3 minutes from the time your family arrives to say your ‘see you soon’ s, dear one, and then we will be immediately boarding our transport.” Effie’s tone, though no longer as over the top for the cameras, still held an almost too sweet kindness to it.  
Rey took in Effie’s instructions and made her way into the room before them, the door gliding securely shut behind her.


	5. Goodbyes

(Ben)

His head was spinning. His heart hammering loudly in his ears. He tried and failed to take a deep breath, his lungs refusing to expand farther than small bursts. His eyes were pinched tightly shut as the panic and rage overcame him. He flew into a rampage around the room, grabbing anything and everything he could, whipping it across the room, causing them to crash and shatter against the wall. He punched the top of a table so hard the wood splintered under his fist. Nothing was safe from his frenzy. He carried on like that for longer than he could keep track of, until all at once the anger was replaced with crushing terror. In the next moment he fell apart at his seams, crumpling to an anguished mess in the middle of the room, the epicenter of his destructive outburst. His arms wrapped around his middle, as if trying to hold himself back from doing anymore damage, and he wept. No matter how many times his name had been called it never got easier. Not ever. Even knowing everything that was in store for him in the weeks to come, every step that would happen along the way, offered no comfort, no reassurance.   
Ben sat in the throes of his mind’s peril, memories flooding his vision, where they had been mere flashes yesterday, today they cracked across his mind in blinding strikes, each new image more relentless and mind splitting than the next. Every person ever destroyed by his hands, every ounce of pain and fear they had endured rushed through him as his own misery, in an unforgiving torrent.   
When a lull in the most recent wave appeared he frantically pressed past the effects of the inhibitor cuffs, desperate for a calm he knew was out there somewhere. But this time, when his little flame came into view it offered more than peace and warmth, there was confusion there as well.   
Though it allowed for him to drag in a long, needed breath of air, and offered the strength he needed to push away the images and feelings plaguing him, he found new images wrapping themselves around him. The girl. The other tribute, the one who volunteered, her terrified eyes stared back at him in his mind, boring red-hot, into his soul.  
All at once his emotions leveled. His head, however, felt like it weighed a least four times its normal weight, the whiplash from his mood change making him dizzy. He lowered himself to sit the rest of the way on the cool floor, bringing his knees awkwardly to his chest, resting his head against them. He thought back to the reaping, just moments before.   
The girl, Rey, was shaking horribly on stage beside Effie. He couldn’t blame her, he had years to practice this facade. Years, to bottle everything up until the cameras were no longer watching. He cast his eyes away from Rey as he took his place beside Effie, her touch on his back had done little to quell his spiralling emotions, but he did not shrug her away, she meant well, Effie did, in her strange way. He stood there as Effie played her part to the crowd and focused on his little light, his flickering flame, and allowed it to combat his growing turmoil. He was so concentrated on it that he had almost missed Effie’s request for the two of them to shake hands. He had been dismayed to watch the flame blink out of existence as his concentration broke and he reached for Rey’s hand. There had been a moment, right before he had closed the distance between them where their hands had lingered apprehensively apart, there seemed to be an unseen barrier lingering within the space between them, like an unseen veil that stood between them. They both had hesitated, each on the other side of it, and he was sure she had noticed it too. He didn’t know what he had expected to find, pushing past that strange barrier to take her hand, but unmistakable familiarity was not it. Once they had come together, the world around him seemed to halt in place, for an instant, he was met with absolute clarity, and peace. No games, no fear, no crowd, or Effie, or death, just them, engulfed in a warmth that was both so familiar, but so much more all at once, just her, only her, in that moment.  
It ended when Effie had concluded her announcement. The shock caused them to pull their hands away and just like that everything horrible in the world came crashing back to the forefront of his mind. The last things he remembered before the darkness consumed him were her eyes, pleading a question he had no answer to. At least not one that made sense, because now when he reached out for his flame, the one thing over the years that had kept him sane, she was at its core. 

Try as he did he could not make sense of it. How a complete stranger could seem like a lifelong companion in a few seconds span of time, but she did. It was impossible, he knew that. He kept telling himself that the games had finally driven him completely insane and now he was projecting some odd feeling onto this other tribute because they shared the misfortune of being in the same unfortunate position. But even as he repeated this over and over to himself and the panic began edging its way into his skull, he found himself reaching out for his light, for its protection and peace, only to be met with her eyes, and the light that danced within them. He shook his head in confusion, cursing his obvious lapse in sanity, but before he could dwell on it farther, the sound of the door opening and closing pulled his attention away.

“Sorry it took me so long kid, I had to send word back to J-12 that we wouldn’t be coming back for a while. She sends her best-” Han sounded like he was the one who hadn’t slept in a week, but his sincerity was still evident in his tone. He didn’t finish what he was saying as his eyes swept over the upturned room.

“Kriff....Ben, you know Effie will be the one to get in trouble for this mess, we talk about this every time.” Han sighed out, ruffling his grey hair.

“And everytime, I pay for the repairs, Effie will be fine, make sure they know it was completely my fault, maybe they will just put me down like the feral dog I am,” Ben all but spat his words at Han, his eyes narrowed into slits as he turned his head to face him. 

Han winced, like a blade had been thrust into his chest, causing Ben to turn his head away in shame. Han regained his composure and moved to Ben’s side, kneeling down next to him. He placed a steady hand on Ben’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

“I’m sorry, Son…” Han didn’t know what else to say that he hadn’t said a bunch of times before, and none of it ever seemed to help. So he just stayed there with Ben, in silence, until a knock on their door indicated that their time was up, and the transport ship was ready for their departure. 

*****

(Rey)

The room was almost an exact mirror image of the one she had said goodbye to Father in, but the familiarity did little to comfort her. It wasn’t a particularly large room, but it served its purpose well enough, no one was meant to spend a long time here. There was a small sofa against the far wall, underneath a small window, and a desk to her right. She wrapped her arms around herself as she took tentative steps toward the sofa, looking out the window. She would trade almost anything to be out there, never again would she curse the heat of the sun or the unforgiving sand. She would do her days work happily if only she could walk back out the door and join her family in their normal day to day existence. But she knew that her freedom came at the price of Prim being the one standing alone in this room, waiting to say goodbye, and she would not make that trade for anything. She made a point to inhale as slow as her body would allow, cloaking herself in a wall of calm she had no choice but to lock in place. Her family would be there any moment and she would not have her last moments with them be ones tainted with fear. She wanted them to remember her composed, not the terrified mess she was under the surface. She took a deep breath in but jumped when a knock sounded on the door, followed by its immediate hiss open, allowing Mother and Prim to enter before it closed again.   
Prim rushed through the door, already unraveling the composure she had mustered up leading into the room. She flung herself into Rey’s arms, fresh tears pouring from her eyes and dampening the waist of Rey’s dress. Rey knelt to better hold her sister, rocking her gently from side to side in her arms as she quietly shushed her sobbs.   
“Prim. Shhh, shhh. . . Primrose, we don’t have a lot of time, I need you to listen to me, okay?” Rey cooed, her voice cracking slightly but her composure still remaining largely intact.   
Prim nodded into Rey’s skirt, but refused to untangle herself from her.

“Prim, please listen, whatever you do, no matter what happens, you have to promise me you will not take extra portions from Unkar, it's not worth adding your name into the reaping more times. Stick with Poe as much as you can, learn from him, okay? He loves you so much, he won’t let anything happen to you, he will make sure you both are taken care of.“ Rey had started off shaky but as she spoke and the realization that these words might be her last, her resolve hardened, determined to leave her sister with her best chance if she were not to return. 

Prim pulled away and nodded up at Rey, her face red and tear stained. 

“I promise. I promise, but Rey, you have to promise me, promise me you will win, if you can. Please. Please come home,” she pleaded with everything she had, struggling to get the words out between sobs, before wrapping herself back in Rey’s embrace. 

Rey held her for a moment, “I-I promise, I'll do what I can to come home, to win.” She didn’t give her mind a chance to wonder over the details of that promise, on what it would take to fulfill it, but she promised it with everything she had.   
“I might actually have a chance you know, I have faced a lot of dangerous stuff out beyond the wall, just ask Poe. Have him tell you our stories. I can pull this off Prim.” She sounded sure as she spoke, even to her own ears, but she knew deep down that killing beasts in the wild and cutting down other people forced to play the First Order’s game would be drastically different. How many of the other tributes were children like Prim? Could she really cut them down if she needed to? 

Rey pushed the ugly thoughts that followed away and held Prim tighter, kissing the top of her head firmly before her eyes drifted up to find Mother. She looked hollow standing in front of them. She was standing stone still, but she was trembling in her place. Pity was the first thing to wash through Rey as she looked at the only mother she had ever known.   
What horrible pain she must have been experiencing. Still grieving the loss of her husband to these barbaric games, and now she had to live with the thought that one of her children might not return from those same games as well. What a cruel stroke of fate, just when she seemed like she might be starting to recover, now her sanity will be tested again. It wasn’t fair, not to anyone, but certainly not for her, who had already lost so much of herself to these games.   
While it was easy and understandable to pity her, there was no time or place for it now. It pained Rey to do it, but she rose from her spot with Prim, pulling the clinging girl along with her as she made her way to stand in front of Mother.

“Mama.” Mother’s gaze flicked to Rey’s and held it, full of terror. “You can’t disappear on her, I’m sorry, but you can’t. She needs you now. She needs you to be her Mother now, all of the time, not just most. I’m so sorry, no matter what happens to me there, you have to be strong for her, make sure she doesn't have to put her name in anymore than it already will be. Keep her away from these games as much as you can…” She pulled Mother in and whispered in her ear. “Don't let my sacrifice be for nothing. Keep her safe.”

When Rey pulled away Mother had tears in her eyes and the sight of them caused Rey to choke back a tightness forming in her throat.

“Please, Mama, don’t cry. I Love you. I love you both, so much,” Rey cooed pulling Mother in to join in their hug goodbye.

There was a knock, and then the door hissed open again, revealing a trooper.  
“Time is up. Please exit the room,” he said gesturing toward Prim and Mother. 

Prim started wailing in protest but Mother scooped her into her shaking arms and pulled her out of the room. It all happened so fast Rey barely even got out a final goodbye before the trooper had ushered them away. As the door slid shut she was left with a flooding of cold through her veins. Would that be the last time she ever held her sister? Would she never get to see Mama truly happy again? The thoughts and worries started to consume her and as each second passed the stone hard composure she had built up for their benefit was crumbling down around her.   
The door opened again startling Rey out of her downward spiral. When she looked up she saw Poe charging in as the door shut behind him. He came at her with such ferocity that she absentmindedly took a few steps back, but he had closed the distance between them in seconds and threw his arms around her firmly, crushing her to his chest. His restrained sobs as he held her were the last push she needed to completely lose her composure. The tears she had been fighting spilled freely from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck as she cried.   
He held her through the panicked sobs that wrecked her body, rubbing his hand up and down her back, desperate to soothe even the tiniest bit of her pain.

“Listen to me, Scraps,” he almost choked on his name for her, “you can do this. I have seen what you can do. You are a fighter, one of the strongest, most badass people I know. All they want is a good show, so show them what you are good at, make them want you to win, whatever the cost.” His words were filled with his typical passion, but in this moment, broken down and tired, she was having a hard time sharing his confidence. 

“How am I supposed to do this Poe? I am good at surviving, but murder? These are people, Poe. People, just like me, you, and Prim? How am I going to be able to-” she trailed off, shaking her head as images from earlier began flooding back.

“It’s no different in there Rey, you have to think of it that way, no matter who you are up against, it is you... or them. They are no different than that lizard you took down yesterday. They can't be anymore than that to you in there, one second of hesitation can mean the difference between you coming home or not. And you gotta come home…” his words trailed off and he held her tighter than he was before. If the force of it hadn’t felt like it actually might succeed in keeping her together, she would have complained, but instead she clung to him with everything she had, letting his words sink in.

She knew that Poe’s harsh words were painfully blunt, to make his point. She knew how much he cared for people, hearing him compare them to animals felt exceedingly wrong coming from him, but part of her understood why he said what he did. She thought back to father, standing with that young girl, and the moment of hesitation that cost him his life. One single moment of hesitation, of letting his morals, get in the way of his survival, and he was gone, torn from the world in the blink of an eye. So, as much as his words felt cruel, she understood, but they still didn’t fill her with the confidence to know that when the time came, she would be able make the choice between what was right, and what needed to be done.

The knock at the door lit her entire body on fire, there was still so much she needed to say to him. Favors to beg for her family's sake, to thank him for everything he had ever done to help her over the years, for being her closest friend in the entire world, but panic froze the words in her throat. She clung to him desperately as the door opened, the trooper on the other side calling to them that their time was up. Her mind raced with the things she needed to say, but it all came tumbling out in panicked bursts. 

“Please keep them safe, Poe, please!” she begged.

‘’Of course, they are my family too, Rey. I won’t let anything happen to them.” he comforted, his breath hitching.

“I said, times up!” the trooper barked, storming forward to pull Poe from the room, inadvertently dragging Rey with them. As the three of them stumbled out the door she lost her footing and staggered in the doorway, Poe latched firmly onto her arm as the trooper fought to pull him away.

“Hey, I’ll see you soon, okay? You come home!” He demanded of her, tears welling in his eyes again. 

Rey moved to follow him, the whisper of a promise dying on her lips as she fought to hold on to the last bit of family she had with her. Her hand still clutched in his, but another trooper grabbed her by the shoulders and held her firmly in place, causing her to lose her grip and drop Poe’s hand. She watched as they escorted him roughly from the building, the last thing she was able to glimpse was them shoving him away before the doors closed behind them.   
With the scuffle over it started to quickly come to Rey’s attention she had an audience. No longer in the safety of her small room, she found herself surrounded by a group of four more troopers, Effie, who looked heart broken from her spot in the main hall, and Han and Ben Solo, who were standing just outside their small room, opposite where she now stood. Han looked, smug, like something about the scene amused him. And Ben looked, haunted, like a horrible dark cloud hung over him. His jaw was tensed and his eyes held the darkest abyss as they swept away from her and started at a spot down the hall. Everyone in the main hall was staring at her, save for Ben, and she wanted nothing more than to turn and hide inside the room she had left just a moment before, but the trooper that had pulled her away from Poe still held her firmly in her spot. It was Effie who broke the awkward silence that hung in the air. 

“FP-563, Please release my tribute. She is obviously no longer under duress and as such, finds herself no longer in need of your most generous assistance.” Effie purred sweetly to the trooper holding Rey. Though, when Rey looked at her, she could see a pointed look of irritation stabbing daggers at the man. His hands released her in seconds and Effie tutted at him in approval.   
Effie sighed happily as she made her way to Rey, placing a reassuring hand on her back. Rey finched away slightly and Effie’s smile faltered a bit. 

“We need to head to the ship now everyone, they are waiting!!” She sang out to the small crowd in the hall, as she gently ushered Rey forward. 

Two of the troopers lead the way down the short corridor, followed by Han and Ben. Effie and Rey followed a short distance behind them, the other guards tailing at their heels. Effie looped her arm in Rey’s, the way friends would do when in some of the holodramas Rey had seen over the years. But why Effie had thought to act this way with her was puzzling to say the least, but she was much too numb at the moment to protest. Effie seemed to take her lack of refusal as an enthusiastic encouragement, because in the next moment she began gushing about how excited she was to ‘get the show on the proverbial road’.

“Oh, this is one of my favorite parts, I can’t wait for you to see the ship we will be traveling in. It is a luxury yacht class, and believe me, it is luxurious. It is top of the line, decked out with anything you two could possibly want on our trip to Coruscant.”  
Effie gushed, squeezing Rey’s arm in excitement. 

When they exited out of the back door, Rey instantly found herself face to face with the ship. It was impossible to miss, and was certainly one of the most beautiful ship’s she had ever seen. Under any other circumstances she would have been elated to have a chance at riding on such a vessel, but as she neared the loading ramp she couldn’t help the fear that started to crash through the numbness that had fallen over her before. Effie seemed to sense her mood shifting and began rambling on again, listing all of the special perks the ship included, two master quarters that belonged to her and Ben, the expansive dining room, the food they would get to enjoy, she went on and on.   
Rey zoned out as she made her way up the loading ramp and into the depths of the ship. She was barely aware that Han had disappeared down one of the corridors they walked through shortly after they boarded, and she was definitely not taking in any information of the different levels and areas that Effie was so graciously giving them a tour of. The only thing Rey could focus on was her fear as it screamed in her ears. Her legs moved of their own accord, following solemnly behind Ben, she wasn’t paying attention to anything, so much so that she almost ran directly into Ben when he came to a halt just outside of a door.   
She wasn’t sure what alerted her to their sudden proximity but she halted her steps right at the same time that Ben went visibly ridgid. Effie had attempted to pull her to stand still a second after she had already come to a stop, wincing in anticipation for Ben to lash out.   
“S-Sorry,” Rey muttered up at him as Ben’s cold eyes pierced down at her. He looked like he was about to say something but stopped, gritting his teeth so hard Rey could hear them grind together before disappearing behind the door to his quarters. 

Effie sighed out a held breath, “He will lighten up in his own time dear, he really isn’t so bad, once you get to know him,” she said, looking at Ben’s door with concerned eyes. Rey looked at her quizzically, then followed her gaze to the door, she had so many questions, but the events of the last hour had left her unable to find the words to say anything, so she remained silent.   
After a moment Effie grinned her usual overly-cheery smile and began pulling Rey a short ways down the hall, stopping when they reached another door.  
“You’ll be in here, sweetie,” Effie cooed, showing Rey the code to her door, and gesturing for her to walk in after it opened.

“Now, I know this is a lot to process right now, you must be sorting through so many different emotions and you have numerous things to take in. I will leave you to collect your thoughts and explore your room until later this evening. We will send a droid for you when supper is ready, if you wish to eat with us, some in the past haven chosen not to on their first night here, and to each their own, but I personally, would be overjoyed to have your company. It gets a bit dreary, with just the boys sometimes,’’ she giggled at her own words before sighing contentedly at Rey. “Do you need anything before I go dear?” 

Rey wrapped her arms around her chest and shook her head no, fighting to find any words to say, “N-no, thank you. I can manage.” she spoke quietly. 

“Okay then, I hope to see you for dinner, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!” she sang as she walked away from the room. 

When the door shut and she was once again left on her own, Rey sunk to the floor and began to cry, the reality of her entire world shifting taking its toll on her mind.


End file.
